Alaqool

Conservation status:

Native

Description:

Growth form: Small shrub. Flowering. Apr–May. Status: Local. Also recorded: Bahrain, Kuwait, E Saudi Arabia, UAE. Habitat & distribution: Occurs in the NW of Al Khor town (Mohammed Al Safran) and seen by MAS at two locations in W Qatar. Batanouny recorded it at Abu Sara Abdul Majidrah and Umm Bab. Usually in saline or disturbed Sandy areas, including farms and coastal areas. Uses: Grazed by camels. The plant exudes a sugary sap that dries into ‘manna’ (Jongbloed et al. citing an earlier author). Ghazanfar states that the whole plant is used for treating cataracts, migraine, jaundice, painful joints and as an aphrodisiac. Notes: The distinction between A. maurorum and A. graecorum is very slight and probably not taxonomically significant.