Looking out over the vast sand dunes of Erg Chebbi, I am awed by the existence of plant life, but not surprised by nature’s ability to colonise places that seem -at first glance- uninhabitable. A local technique (Photo 1) I viewed was to apply mud to the tips of newly planted trees to protect the growing tip from the sun but also to break apical dominance and create lateral bud burst and overall a bushier plant.
Photo 1In the dunes of Erg Chebbi on the edge of the Sahara near the Algerian border, there are clusters of distorted trees growing close together, suspected to be Tamarix sp. (Photo 2), often on their own little hills of sand held together by the intertwined roots that have been exposed over time as the dunes have shifted and changed shape. Walking across the rocks, at the base of a huge dune, there is a large stand of a sweetly scented Lilly which I thought was either an Ornithogalum sp. or Puschkinia sp. (Photo 3) which common to the foothills of Turkey, is seemingly found throughout that equatorial zone. On reaching the top of the dune, the silence is as overwhelming as the vastness of the desert.
Photo 2a
Photo 2b
Photo 3a
Photo 3bOn the bus to Marrakech, flagged down in front of a house in the middle of nowhere, the teen collecting the tickets proceeded to climb onto the roof of the bus and began to throw Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) pups (Photo 4) down to a group of men who were inspecting them with much debate. Date palms are dominant throughout the country and used for their ornamental but more importantly productive value.
Photo 4Everywhere you go, but particularly in the cities, the trees that line the sides of roads are painted white to about 4 ft up the trunk. It is said that this is to aid in their visibility during night time, but also to reflect heat from the trunk, providing protection from the hot desert sun.
On arrival in Marrakech, it is immediately evident that there is a greater appreciation for this urban landscape, with lined avenues of clipped Citrus sp. (Photo 5) under planted with a mixture of Rosa cv. ablaze with their fresh burgundy growth which is beginning to bud up with the onset of Spring. ‘The municipality, with the help of landscapers, botanists and ecologists are working hard to restore and lay out more gardens in the city.
Photo 5Marrakech is famous for its gardens, having more than any other Moroccan city, and while I didn’t have time to check out some of the more famous ones, I did take the time to visit a very progressive garden with a twist. The Cyber Park Arsat Moulay Abdel Salam garden (Photo 6) is a short walk from the meeting point of Djemaa el-Fna, the main square in the centre of town where you will find all sorts of characters from snake charmers to story tellers. Lying on 8 hectares of land, it was given ‘a 21st century overhaul by the Kings (Mohammed VI) Foundation for the Protection of the Environment in conjunction with Maroc Telcom’. Part garden, part internet café, it is an interesting place to visit in the middle of such a dry country. It staggers me that self standing touch screens (Photo 7) offering free internet in the middle of a green oasis are so accepted by its people and seemingly standard in a place where donkeys are used to haul gas bottles piled high in enclosed areas of historic medinas.
Photo 6
Photo 7As soon as you walk through the gates of Cyber Park, you enter a green lush oasis in the desert, back dropped by the snow capped peaks of the High Atlas Mountains. With straight long pathways, the park is laid out in a grid like fashion, segregated by swathes of Pennisetum alopecuroides (Photo 8) that line the pathways, shifting elegantly in the light breeze. Beyond that you find Citrus sp. and gnarled old Olea sp. planted in rows, creating an orchard-like feel but which are clipped and coppiced to an inch of their life. They thrive in the heat however, as does the colourful bougainvilleas which ramble and climb their way towards the sky, using Phoenix sp. as a support (Photo 9).
Photo 8
Photo 9The garden beds lie lower than the pathways and are shaped by wells making for large reservoirs which are flood-irrigated regularly, distributing moisture to the root zone of particular plants with ease. It is a rudimentary system, but one which works as most plants appear in exceptional condition. The rampant buffalo grass particularly loves the moisture and it appears to be an ongoing battle to keep it from taking over hedging and the garden beds.
Ceratonia siliqua (Carob) trees provide deep shade and respite from the sharp sun, while other flowering genus’ such as Melia azedarach, Schinus molle, Jacaranda mimosifolia and Acacia sp. all provide seasonal interest at varying times of the year, and functional value as more welcoming shade. Colour is added to the predominantly grey (from the olives) and lime green landscape (which is caused by the exuberant flush of new growth from Citrus) by mass plantings of Nerium oleander, Hibiscus cv. and Plumbago auriculata. The delicate pink stem borne flowers on Cercis silaquastrum and bright yellow flowers of Acacia sp. create a supposedly unpalatable contrast, which I think in fact works very well.
Morocco is awash with natural attractions from the calming silence of the Sahara to its tallest peak Jebel Toubkal which stands at 4167m. Marrakech, the cultural capital, is a city standing in the middle of western influence with a progressive present and positive outlook for the future, their gardens a welcome escape from the cigarette smoke and pollution created by zippy mopeds weaving their way through the tourist populated souqs (markets).
Reference – Morocco Lonely Planet Travel Guide
Other Good Sources of Plant Information:
http://www.herbarium.rdg.ac.uk/moroccan_plants/moroccan%20plants/main.asp
http://homepage.mac.com/jmdelacre/flore/ - FR
Text and Photos by Anthony J Curnow
