Prosopis cineraria
is a species of flowering tree
in the pea
family, Fabaceae
. It is native to arid
portions of Western
and the Indian Subcontinent
, including Afghanistan, Iran, India, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. It is an established introduced species in parts of Southeast Asia
, including Indonesia.
Common names include Ghaf
(Arabic)It is the state tree of Rajasthan (India. A large and well known example of the species is the Tree of Life in Bahrain – approximately 400 years old and growing in a desert devoid of any obvious sources of water.
It is also the national tree of the United Arab Emirates. Through the Give a Ghaf campaign its citizens are urged to plant it in their gardens to combat desertification and to preserve their country's heritageIn Sri Lanka the mesquite Prosopis juliflora native to Central and South America is also known as katu andara. It was introduced in 1880 and has become a serious problem as an invasive species.
