Nitrariaceae FAMILY

Nitraria retusa

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Nitraria retusa is a many-stemmed and profusely branched, erect shrub, forming with age a mound-shape due to the sand that accumulates around it; the plant can grow around 100 - 300cm tall[ 328 Title African Flowering Plants Database Publication Author Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php Publisher Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. Year 0 ISBN Description Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map. , 1059 Title A Guide to Medicinal Plants in North Africa Publication Author Publisher IUCN; Malaga, Spain Year 2005 ISBN 2-8317-0893-1 Description A guide to over 100 species of medicinal herbs in N. Africa. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. It is an important component of the desert environment, where it helps to stabilize the sand.

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeNorthern Africa - northern Senegal to Morocco, to Egypt and Sudan; east through the Arabian Peninsular and eastern Mediterranean to Pakistan

HabitatDry and saline areas and salt marshes[ 328 Title African Flowering Plants Database Publication Author Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php Publisher Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. Year 0 ISBN Description Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map. ]. Plains and depressions of the lower steppes[ 1059 Title A Guide to Medicinal Plants in North Africa Publication Author Publisher IUCN; Malaga, Spain Year 2005 ISBN 2-8317-0893-1 Description A guide to over 100 species of medicinal herbs in N. Africa. ].