It is often seen growing in a hummock with the sand collected around it: it also occurs in plains and wadis, and is cultivated around desert plantations as a windbreak | It is characteristic of deep sand, has a very long tap root reaching down to the water table and helps to stabilise the surrounding dunes |
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It is a useful plant for sand dune stabilisation, hedges, massed planting and in the foreline of afforestation |
It features frequently in the folk medicine of the desert owing to its food value, high in sugar and nitrogen | It is fast-growing on sandy and gravelly soils and rock, and is very hardy with a high salt tolerance |
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The vertical structure of C | It is used for gastric, ophthalmic and stomach problems, as well as for hair scenting and dying; the dried leaves and stems are used to treat toothache |
Relatively high, its fragile twigs are slender, the leaves tiny and the pretty, red, oval fruit is covered with hairy spines.
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