I’ve just returned from the most fantastic trip to Jordan, primarily to visit Petra and to dive in the Red sea, but it turned out that the flora there captivated me too.
The national tree of Jordan is Quercus ithaburensis, an Oak tree, and can be seen in Umm Qais. Umm Qais is a town principally known for its proximity to the ruins of the ancient Gadara. It is in the extreme northwest of the country, near Jordan’s borders with Israel and Syria. You can see the famed Golan heights, Sea of Galilee, Nazareth, Beirut, and Damascus. In the area is also Capparis spinosa (Egyptian caper), Olea europaea (Wild olive), Urginia maritima (Squill), Ornithogalum narbonense (Star of Bethlehem), Androcymbium palaestinum, Chiliadenus iphionoides (yellow flowers) and Tamarix jordanis (Jordanian Tamarisk). See below.
Ajloun Castle, medieval name Qalʻat ar-Rabad, is a 12th-century Muslim castle situated in northwestern Jordan. It is placed on a hilltop belonging to the Mount Ajloun district, also known as Jabal ‘Auf after a Bedouin tribe which had captured the area in the 12th century. Here you can see Pistachio trees (Pistacia palestina), Aleppo pine (Pinus halapensis) and Wild olive trees.
Aqaba is a Jordanian port city on the Red Sea’s Gulf of Aqaba, inhabited since 4000 B.C. It is surrounded by over 292 mountains, many over 1500m. Jabal Um Ad-Dami is the highest point at 1854m, and entering this region is where you begin to see Acacias again, including.Acacia tortillis, Acacia pachycera, Faidherbia albida and Acacia raddiana. Palm trees also fringe the beaches.
From Aqaba to Wadi Rum is a journey into the most incredible realm of mountain and desert scenery. And Petra has to be seen – it is just mind-boggling. This view overlooks the Wadi Musa region on the way to Little Petra, with a Juniper tree in the foreground.
I hiked from Little Petra, to Petra. The desert scenery was quite incredible, with plants like Juniper, Fig, and Urginia/Drimia maritima (Squill), Daphne linearifolia & Osyris alba (red berries), Sarcopterium spinosum, Salvadora persica (Toothbrush tree), Gomphocarpus sinaicus (Milkweed), Nerium oleander (Oleander), Zilla spinosa, Thymelaea hirsuta, Calligonum comosum & Ephedra species (spiky grass-like), Kickxia spartioides, and a lovely pink flower which I think is a Dianthus.
Now we get to Petra, where plants like figs and Capparis ovata thrive in crannies and cracks. Here you can see Salsola inermis (paper like flowers – see below) by roadsides, and Nerium oleander (Oleander) too.
Gardens Botswana 