Tidal
creeks cut into the coastline from Sharjah northwards. Mangroves
are abundant, but low, and the landspits in between the creeks
are covered with the same grasses and halophytes, that occur all
along the coast. But these areas are also the last places where
an abundance of the edible mushroom faqah still occurs.
These fungi live in symbiosis with the small woody perennial shrub
Helianthemum lippii . The extremely wet spring of 1995-1996
brought out the mushrooms in great multitudes - and local people
in droves to collect them! Nearer to Ras al-Khaimah high sand-dunes
with impressive ghaf (Prosopis cinerea ) forests come close
to the coast. In the springtime these dunes are covered with the
lovely ephemerals, Eremobium aegyptiacum , Silene villosa
, Senecio glaucus , Malva parviflora and several
Launaea species. A narrow gravel plain leads north of Ras
al-Khaimah to the point where the high Musandam mountains descend
straight into the sea.
The plains around Ras al-Khaimah are among the most fertile of
the country and plantations prosper. Abandoned fields in the springtime
have a special fascination for plant lovers. There are all the
common favourites like Anagallis arvensis , Aerva javanica
, Astragalus species , Lotus halophilus , Monsonia
nivea and the bindweed Convolvulus arvensis . Aloe
vera is an introduced species that has established itself as a
'feral' plant.
Towards
the mountains the gravel plains are thick with stands of Prosopis
juliflora , the indestructible mesquite, probably imported
into the country in times long gone by. Starting from these plains,
another four-hour drive leads through boulder-strewn Wadi Bih
to a high pass, where some of the original montane flora can be
found in those places where fences protect it against the voracious
appetite of goats and donkeys. Dark purple Ixiolirion tataricum
lilies, and bright blue irises vie for attention with the showy
pink Gladiolus italicus and the strange Muscaris
longipes. Smaller weeds, more commonly found in European meadows,
also occur, including Vicia sativa , Galium setaceum
, and strong-smelling herbs like Salvia aegyptiaca . Under
overhanging large boulders tiny plants like the yellow Vicoa
pentanema and the starry Spergula fallax stand side
by side with the small white daisies of Anthemis odontostephana
and the yellow globes of Matricaria aurea. The most conspicuous
plants of these high plains are the thorny Astragalus spinosus
bushes, the arabian almond Amygdalus arabicus and the graceful
pink-flowering Moringa peregrina trees. A hairpin track
with magnificent views zig-zags down into the steep-sided canyon
of Wadi Khabb Shamsi, one of the sites of the strange Periploca
aphylla , and leads into the Dibba gravel plains, where Acacia
tortilis trees spread their flat-topped umbrellas. I have
noticed a sort of symbiosis between this Acacia and Lycium
shawii, the desert thorn. The latter, wherever it grows by
itself, is often cropped into stunted shapes by domestic animals,
and the only specimens that manage to thrive are those that grow
between the protecting branches of the Acacia . The Acacia
itself often shows a double umbrella: most of the tree, which
is browsed by camels remains low and shrublike, but in the middle,
where camels cannot reach, some branches have managed to grow
out and reach their proper height to form the second umbrella.
