Nitraria retusa (Forssk.) Asch.

Species

Angiosperms > Sapindales > Nitrariaceae > Nitraria

Characteristics

An erect shrub. It is spiny. It keeps growing from year to year. The leaves are fleshy and alternate. They have a bitter taste. The flowers are white and in loose clusters. The fruit are red and fleshy.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 2.5
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a Mediterranean climate plant. It grows in salty and alkaline soils. It grows in dry soil. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall above 100 mm. It grows below 600 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places. It grows in the Sahara.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 6-12

Usage

The fruit are eaten raw. They are also used for sugar.
Uses animal food environmental use food fuel material medicinal
Edible fruits seeds
Therapeutic use Diabetes (unspecified), Narcotic (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Nitraria retusa leaf picture by Maarten Vanhove (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Nitraria retusa world distribution map, present in Anguilla, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Tunisia

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:873339-1
WFO ID wfo-0000381039
COL ID 47JVJ
BDTFX ID 102311
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Nitraria tridentata Peganum retusum Nitraria sericea Nitraria senegalensis Berberis africana Nitraria retusa