Alhagi maurorum Medik.

Rigid, much-branched shrub, up to 1.5 m high with extensive underground stems; aerial stems annual, armed with sharp, straight, axillary spines. Leaves simple, usually small (up to 20 mm long), entire, sparse. Flowers borne on spine-tipped branches, solitary or often few in axillary racemes, pink, red or purple. Calyx campanulate, with 5 short, subequal teeth. Petals: standard obovate, shortly clawed; wings falcate-oblong, free; keel incurved, obtuse. Stamens diadelphous; vexillary stamen free, remainder connate; anthers uniform. Ovary subsessile, many ovuled; style filiform, incurved, glabrous; stigma small, terminal. Flowering time Dec., Jan. Pod linear, thick or subterete, smooth, indehiscent, strongly contracted between seeds. Seeds 1-5, reniform.

It is a temperate and Mediterranean climate plant. It grows in salty places where the water is not far below the surface. It grows naturally in waste places and sand dunes in Turkey. It needs a sunny position and a light well drained soil. It can be in alkaline soil. It grows below 1,200 m altitude. It grows in areas with a rainfall below 1,016 mm. It can grow in arid places.

A sweet sugary secretion is obtained from the plant. This is exuded in the hot season. A sweet-tasting manna is exuded from the twigs at flowering time. The root is cooked and eaten as a famine food. It can be ground into flour.

Plants can be grown from seed which should be pre-soaked for 12 hours in warm water before planting. It can be grown from cuttings of young shoots.