The Wild Ghaf
The Ghaf is the UAE National Tree
In 2008, the Ghaf was declared as the national tree of the UAE because of its great cultural and traditional significance. The Ghaf is a drought-tolerant tree, able to withstand the harsh desert environment and still remain green. The Ghaf can live up to 120 years!
The beautiful, valuable Ghaf is the evergreen tree of the desert and it is also referred to as the Union Tree by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of the Emirate of Dubai, as representing the union of the seven Emirates.
In February 2019, the Ghaf tree was also declared as the symbol of the Year of Tolerance.
“Tolerance is a universal value, and Ghaf is our authentic national tree, a source of life and symbol of stability in the middle of the desert, under its shadows our ancestors gathered to consult on matters related to their daily lives. In the ‘Year of Tolerance’, we chose the Ghaf as a logo for all of us to live by the principles of tolerance, coexistence and diversity.”
Learn More About A Ghaf Tree
Prosopis Cineraria
Prosopis Cineraria, known as Jammi, Shami, Kandi, Khejri Tree, Jand, or Ghaf, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae.
The Ghaf tree is a small to medium-sized thorny tree, with slender branches armed with conical thorns and with light bluish-green foliage. The leaflets are dark green with thin casting of light shade.
The tree is evergreen or nearly so and produces new flush leaves before summer. The flowers, small in size and yellow or creamy white in color, appear from March to May after the new flush of leaves. The seedpods are formed soon thereafter and grow rapidly in size, attaining full size after about two months.
It is well adapted to browsing by animals, such as camels and goats. Young plants assume a cauliflower-like, bushy appearance in areas open to goat browsing.
Prosopis Cineraria requires strong light, and dense shade will kill seedlings. The crown (aboveground portion) grows slowly.
The root system of Prosopis Cineraria is long and well developed, securing a firm footing for the plant and allowing it to obtain moisture from groundwater. Taproot penetration up to 35 m (115 ft) in soil depth has been reported. Like other members of the family Fabaceae, symbiotic bacteria found in its root nodules allow it to fix nitrogen in the soil, improving soil fertility.
Arabic Names: Ghaf, Harb, Awd, Hadheeb, Shibhan
Botanical Description: Evergreen tree up to 25m tall; trunk un-branched for several meters; branches droop, giving the canopy a rounded appearance with short triangular spines between leaves nodes; bark is fissured or cracked.
Leaves & Flowers: Grey-green; divided into two pinnae, each with 7-16 pairs of leaflets with pointed tips. Tiny flowers on cylindrical spikes. Flowering twice a year from March to May and from October to January.
Fruits: Pods cylindrical; slightly curved; yellow to reddish brown. The pods (fruits) form soon after flowering and grow rapidly in size within two months time it reach the full pods size.
Habitat: Sand plains, dunes and wadi banks. Common and widespread in the north-eastern part of the UAE.
Globally: Extremely drought tolerant, growing in areas with less than 75mm annual rain fall and temperatures of up to 50°C. Grows at altitude from sea level up to 600m above sea level
The desert tree
The Ghaf is a drought-tolerant tree, able to withstand the harsh desert environment and still remain green and that can live up to 120 years! It can be found on low sand dunes and its presence is an indicator there is water underground.
It is native to arid portions of Western Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iran, India, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. It is an established introduced species in parts of Southeast Asia, including Indonesia.
Prosopis Cineraria inhabits dry, arid areas where annual rainfall averages less than 500 mm (20 in). Rainfall shows considerable variation in the most important areas of its distribution, ranging from 100 to 600 mm (3.9 to 24 in) annually, with a long dry season. In areas of its natural distribution, the climate is characterized by extreme temperatures. Summers are very hot and winters can be severe with frost from December to January. The maximum shade temperature varies from about 40 to 46 °C (104 to 115 °F), while the absolute minimum temperature ranges from 9 to 16 °C (48 to 61 °F). The tree is able to withstand the hottest winds and the driest season, and remains alive when other plants would succumb.
The tree exhibits considerable drought hardiness and it grows on a variety of soils, but grows best on alluvial soils consisting of various mixtures of sand and clay. It is common on moderately saline soils, but can dry out where the soil is too saline.
In India it is one of the chief indigenous trees of the plains of the Punjab, Western Rajasthan and Gujarat and is common in Bundelkhand and the neighborhoods of Delhi and Agra. It is also found in the dry parts of Central and Southern India, occurring in parts of Maharashtra (near Nasik), Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka south of Godavari, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and the drier parts of the Deccan Plateau. Its range extends as far south as Tuticorin.
In general the climatic climax of the Indian Thar Desert is represented by Prosopis Cineraria and Salvadoraoleoides. Prosopis Cineraria occurs on grazing lands, cultivated fallows, barrens and reserved forests, and is found in association with Tecomellaundulata, Capparis decidua, Maytenusemarginata, Ziziphus species, and Salvadora species.
The density of Khejri increases from the Western to Eastern part of the Western Rajasthan. Older and younger alluvial plains are the two habitats preferred by Khejri but it also grows well in sandy undulating plains. Because of its capacity to avail perched water and to absorb moisture from rains through its foliage, it can grow in the extremely arid tracts (100 mm rainfall).
In the wild:
Flowers, fruits, leaves, bark, branches and roots of Ghaf – all provide resources and habitat for a variety of native fauna and flora, making the tree a keystone species; one that plays such an integral part of the food chain in an ecosystem, that if it disappeared, it would cause the ultimate extinction of other species in that system. Many birds build nests on the Ghaf – desert eagle owl, brown-necked raven, yellow-throated sparrow and long-legged buzzard are examples. Still others nest in holes along trunk and branches; and many more use the trees as roosts.
In rural areas:
Prosopis Cineraria has a very deep taproot system and hence it does not generally compete with the associated crops. The improved physical soil conditions compared with higher availability of nutrients under the Ghaf canopy explain the better growth of the crops associated with it.
Rural communities encourage the growth of Prosopis cineraria in their agricultural fields, pastures and village community lands.
Because of its extensive root system, it stabilizes shifting sand dunes and is also useful as a windbreak and in forestation of dry areas. It fixes atmospheric nitrogen through microbial activities and adds organic matter through leaf litter decomposition, rejuvenating poor soils.
Because it is the only tree species in arid regions, it provides much needed shade and shelter to the farmers working in the fields as well as to the cattle and wildlife during the summer months.
Cattle, sheep, horses, mules, donkeys, goats, camels and other desert wildlife eat pods of Prosopis Cineraria. In western Rajasthan, Blackbuck (Antilopecervicapra) and Chinkara (Gazellabennettii) have survived by eating the pods and leaves of this tree.
Because of its economic value, the tree is left standing in arable land and the farmers regulate its population by adapting suitable agro forestry management practices.
Prosopis Cineraria is much valued as a fodder tree. The trees are heavily lopped particularly during winter months when no other green fodder is available in the dry tracts. There is a popular saying that death will not visit a man, even at the time of a famine, if he has a Ghaf, a goat and a camel, since the three together will sustain a man even under the most trying conditions.
The forage yield per tree varies a great deal. On an average, the yield of green forage from a full grown tree is expected to be about 60 kg with complete lopping having only the central leading shoot, 30 kg when the lower two third crown is lopped and 20 kg when the lower one third crown is lopped. The leaves are of high nutritive value. Feeding of the leaves during winter when no other green fodder is generally available in rain-fed areas is thus profitable.
Prosopis Cineraria is most one of the most important feed species for desert livestock, contributing a major proportion of their feed requirements. It provides nutritious and highly palatable green and well as dry fodder that is readily eaten by camels, cattle, sheep and goats. Locally it is called Loong.
An added economic value of Ghaf is as an ornamental in cities and towns, where it is being extensively planted.
Threats
The tree is under threat due to:
- Urbanization and infrastructure development resulting in habitat loss,
- Climate change,
- Overuse of its resources (i.e. wood and leaves),
- Invasive species, such as the Mesquite tree from Central America that was intentionally introduced to help forestation efforts in Abu Dhabi but ended up contributing to the threat of the Ghaf by suffocating it
The greatest danger to Ghaf is from browsing by camels and goats; and intensive lopping to provide forage especially during summer. In some places degradation is so intense that Ghaf regeneration has been totally eliminated. Moreover, as urban spread and infrastructure develops rapidly, Ghaf trees often bear the brunt.
Excessive groundwater extraction is another threat. The effect of groundwater withdrawal on trees, in the long term, is uncertain; but could be harmful if extraction is from the soil layers that are tapped by tree roots.
Conservation
For the UAE, an accelerating decline in Ghaf trees and woodlands implies a loss in cultural and biological heritage.
However, this doesn’t end on a sad note! In response to all of these threats, measures are being taken by government, non-government and private entities to protect the future of the tree!
Back in 2007, Emirates Nature, formerly known as Emirates Wildlife Society, and the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) launched a campaign called “Save the Ghaf Tree”, which aimed to make the endangered tree a national symbol and to raise awareness about it among UAE residents. The campaign was well-received and a big success, as almost 1,000 trees were planted and the Ghaf was declared the national tree the following year! It has also been made illegal to cut down a Ghaf tree!
Today Goumbook wants to preserve its aesthetical, cultural and ecological significance and lead its conservation to create public awareness aimed at protecting the wild Ghaf. Efforts are under way to look after this precious tree and YOU can do your part to help the Ghaf!
Life in the desert
There is a popular saying that “death will not visit a man, even at the time of a famine, if he has a Ghaf, a goat and a camel, since the three together will sustain a man even under the most trying conditions.” – unknown
The Ghaf tree is a keystone species having multiple beneficial uses from combating desertification and improving soil fertility in arid environments to being an essential food source, as well as a source of fuel, shelter and medicine for both humans and animal species.
It was sought by the Bedouins for its seeds and its leaves were once used instead of rice, its extended pods provide food for animals which in turn supply milk, butter, cheese and meat. The Ghaf woodlands also support large populations of insects, which in turn provide food for reptiles, birds and small mammals. This sturdy, evergreen tree can withstand prolonged drought and high salinity, tapping water deep in the sands.
The seedpods of the Ghaf, locally called sangar or sangri, contain a sweet pulp. The dried pods, locally known as Kho-Kha, are eaten by humans and nearly all livestock. Pods are also fed to animals when young (green) and their taste is improved by boiling and drying them. They are also used as famine food and known even to prehistoric man. Pod yield is nearly 14,000 kg/km² with a variation of 10.7% in dry locations and salads can be made from the leaves – this is actually considered a delicacy here in the UAE!
Even the bark, having an astringent, bitter taste, was reportedly eaten during the severe famines of 1899 and 1939.
The Prosopis Cineraria leaves are used as a salad in the United Arab Emirates. After mincing the leaves extensively, it’s considered a delicacy by some to mix the leaves with their fish and rice meal. Watch the video of an Emirati woman preparing the salad here or find the original recipe here
Other important uses include providing wood for construction and medicinal properties, as it is recommended for the treatment of chest congestion, toothaches and even snakebites!
Medicinal Properties
Prosopis Cineraria produces gum, which is obtained during May and June. The bark of the tree is dry, acrid, bitter with a sharp taste; cooling anthelmintic; tonic, cures leprosy, dysentery, bronchitis, asthma, leukoderma, hemorrhoids and muscle tremors.
The bark is also used as a remedy for rheumatism, cough, the common cold, asthma, and scorpion stings.
The plant is recommended for the treatment of snakebite. Water-soluble extract of the residue from methanol extract of the stem bark exhibits anti-inflammatory properties.
The smoke of the leaves is good for eye troubles.
Prosopis Cineraria flower is pounded, mixed with sugar and used during pregnancy as safeguard against miscarriage.
Some recipes:
- extracts of leaves used as eye drops;
- extracts of crushed pods used as ear drops;
- leaves chewed for toothache;
- ashes of burnt bark mixed with water to relieve pain in fractured bones;
- bark used for rheumatism and also applied to scorpion stings.
The pod is considered astringent in Punjab.
The fruit is dry and hot, with a flavor, indigestible, causes biliousness, and destroys the nails and the hair.