The genus Tamarix is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tamaris River in Hispania Tarraconensis (Spain).
Hoodia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, under the subfamily Asclepiadoideae, native to Southern Africa.
Haloxylon ammodendron, the saxaul, black saxaul, sometimes sacsaoul or saksaul, is a plant belonging to the family Amaranthaceae.
Parkinsonia florida, the blue palo verde, is a species of palo verde native to the Sonoran Deserts in the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. Its name means "green pole or stick" in Spanish, referring to the green trunk and branches, that perform photosynthesis.
The Zulu serotine, also called the Zulu pipistrelle, aloe bat, or aloe serotine, is a species of vesper bat found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are savanna and hot deserts.
Trianthema is a genus of flowering plants in the ice plant family, Aizoaceae. Members of the genus are annuals or perennials generally characterized by fleshy, opposite, unequal, smooth-margined leaves, a prostrate growth form, flowers with five perianth segments subtended by a pair of bracts, and a fruit with a winged lid. The genus contains about 30 described species growing in tropical and subtropical regions, especially Australia. One common species, Trianthema portulacastrum, desert horse purslane, is frequent as a weed in agricultural areas and is widely distributed.
Namaqua National Park is a South African national park situated approximately 495 km north of Cape Town and 22 km northwest of Kamieskroon. It has an area of more than 1300 km2. The park is part of Namaqualand, an area covering 55,000 km2 located within the semi-desert Succulent Karoo biome. This biome is a biodiversity hotspot with the largest concentration of succulent plants in the world. The park also has an arid environment with succulent plants. The park was created to protect its flowers. During the spring, wildflowers bloom there in a spectacular fashion. The park's main tourist attraction is this abundant spring bloom of brightly coloured wildflowers.
Haloxylon is a genus of shrubs or small trees, belonging to the plant family Amaranthaceae. Haloxylon and its species are known by the common name saxaul. According to Dmitry Ushakov, the name borrowed from the Kazakh "seksevil". In modern Kazakh language, the shrub is called "seksewil".
Tamarix chinensis is a species of tamarisk known by the common names five-stamen tamarisk and Chinese tamarisk or saltcedar. It is native to China and Korea, and it is known in many other parts of the world as an introduced species and sometimes an invasive noxious weed. It easily inhabits moist habitat with saline soils. It may grow as a tree with a single trunk or as a shrub with several spreading erect branches reaching 6 metres or more in maximum height. It has been known to reach 12 metres. It has reddish, brown, or black bark. The small, multibranched twigs are covered in small lance-shaped, scale-like leaves which are no more than about 3 mm long. The inflorescence is a dense raceme of flowers a few cm long. Each fragrant flower has five petals which are usually pink but range from white to red.
Tamarix parviflora is a species of tamarisk known by the common name smallflower tamarisk.
Lycium berlandieri is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family known by the common name Berlandier's wolfberry. It is native to Mexico and the south-western United States from Arizona to Texas.
Lycium pallidum is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family known by the common names pale wolfberry and pale desert-thorn. It is native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. In Mexico it can be found in Sonora, Chihuahua, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosi. In the United States it occurs from California to Texas and as far north as Utah and Colorado.
Dalbergia armata is a scrambling, deciduous species of legume that is native to subtropical to temperate regions of southeastern Africa. The robust, woody liana or small tree is armed with strong spines on the main stem and branches. It occurs sparsely or commonly in forest, bush, riparian fringes and in wooded ravines. It is sometimes employed as a bonsai subject, and it can be propagated from either seed or cuttings.
Petalidium, commonly known as petal-bushes, is a genus of perennial shrubs in the acanthus family. They are native to sandy flats or stony slopes in the drier bush regions of Africa, India and the Mascarene Islands. The majority of species occur in frost-free, summer rainfall regions of southern Africa, and may be found from low to medium altitudes.
Caroxylon imbricatum, synonym Salsola imbricata, is a small species of shrub in the family Amaranthaceae. It grows in deserts and arid regions of north Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and southwestern Asia.
Tamarix nilotica, the Nile tamarisk is a species of shrub or small tree in the tamarisk family. It is found in arid parts of North Africa and the Middle East, particularly areas with high salinity. It forms part of the dune stabilisation process.
Tamarix dioica is a twiggy shrub or small tree that grows in saline habitats in western Asia. Common names include ghaz and khagal in Pakistan, lal jhau, urusia, ban jhau, nona-gach, urichiya in Bangladesh and nona jhau in the Sunderbans.
Suaeda vermiculata is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is a salt-tolerant plant (halophyte) that grows naturally in salt-affected areas.
Melhania forbesii is a plant in the mallow family Malvaceae, native to southern Africa. It is named for the English naturalist and plant collector John Forbes.
Drypetes gerrardii is a species of small tree or large shrub in the family Putranjivaceae. Common names include forest ironplum, bastard white ironwood, and forest ironwood. It is native to tropical and subtropical central and eastern Africa. It was first described in 1920 by the English botanist John Hutchinson, who named it after the English botanist William Tyrer Gerrard who collected plants and seeds in southern Africa in the 1860s.
