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The desert and coastal landscapes of the UAE contain a surprisingly rich variety of habitats and plant life. The UAE World Desert gives a fascinating insight into this diversity, showcasing the extraordinary, hardy and ingenious plants that can survive – and even thrive – in the Emirates’ intense aridity and heat.
Woodlands of acacia tortilis and ziziphus spin-christi provide habitats for many species, such as gazelles and oryx, which feed on the nutritious seedpods of the acacia. Traditionally, the ziziphus was also valued for providing a resilient wood, valued for carving and construction.
Normally found alongside wadis, the spectacular, violet flowered vitex agnus-castus shrub gives shade and refuge to a number of species. The collection also includes rare trees from Jebel Hafeet, such as the moringa peregrina, which illustrate the botanical diversity of the UAE’s highest mountain and one of the area's most important conservation areas.
A dominant tree in this area is the ghaf or propsopis cineraria, the national tree of the UAE. Traditionally this tree provided the people of the desert with shade, food for their livestock and wood for carving. The late Sheikh Zayed, founder of the UAE, loved this tree and named two schools which he built in Al Ain in its honour: Oud Touba School and Umm Ghafa School. Oud is the name for a grove of ghaf trees.
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