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Northern Sinai Ecology

A first distinct area is the Mediterranean coast, with the adjoining dune belt. Due to the proximity of the sea, fairly regular rain and dew provide enough water and sand stores water well. On the north side of the dunes especially, the wild plants have been so displaced by the intensification of agriculture that at first they are hardly noticeable. Where agriculture becomes less important, species such as different grasses (Ammophila arenaria, Panicum turgidum, Cynodon dactylon), knotweed (Polygonum equisetiforme), and birds'-foot trefoil (Lotus creticus) dominate the plant community.

The Tih Plateau, with its seemingly endless fields of gravel and scree, takes up the largest part of northern Sinai. Wide areas appear to have no flora or fauna. Only by looking more closely can isolated traces of life be found. The determining factor is water. Wherever even tiny amounts of water collect, vegetation, albeit stunted, appears. Sparse vegetation follows the depression of Wadi al-Arish and its countless branches. There ? beside ubiquitous plants like camelthorn, glasswort (Chenopodiaceae), the Hammada and Anabasis species, and the Syrian bean caper of the genus ZjgophjUtim -abo grow the niter bush (Xitraria retusa). mugwort (Artemisia inculta), and saltwort (Salsola tttranda, S. inermis). Thorny acacias grow in places with higher groundwater.

One plant only a few centimeters high can easily be overlooked in the gravel because it appears to be dead or might be mistaken for a stone due to its gray and tiny bent branches. It is the famous rose of Jericho (Anastatica Hmchuntica), which when it rains unfolds its bent branches and twigs within minutes, thereby releasing its ripe seeds for germination.

The isolated mountain ranges rising out of the Tih Plateau are especially interesting for botanists, as this is where some of the relic plants are found.
More frequent rainfall and dew provide better and more regular water. Dunes and sandy areas far from the coast form a distinct region in the Tih desert, as here also a better water supply is guaranteed through the storage ability of the sand. On shifting dunes, plants are confronted with another serious problem: the wind blows the soil away from the roots or threatens to bury the plant. A countermeasure of some grass species especially is an extensive root system for holding the sand in place, as well as vegetative propagation by long runners.

As a highlight of desert flora, a few plants should be mentioned that create the wonder of a flowering desert after the infrequent heavy rainfalls. A real flowering carpet can be created by Diplotaxis acris, with its violet blossoms, and the yellow blossoms of the stinkweed (Diplotaxis harra). Among them can be seen the marguerite-like chamomiles of the genus Anthemis, the yellow adonis (Adonis dentatus), red or violet-blooming storksbill species of the genera Geranium and Erodium, and the conspicuous vellow inflorescences of the parasitic plant Cistanche phelypaea, and the even brighter yellow blooms of other compositae. All of these are transcended by the bright red of the poppy (Papaver rhoeas).
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