Haloxylon salicornicumRimth Saltbush

The Haloxylon salicornicum, commonly known as the Rimth Saltbush, is a low, densely branched shrub of the gravel plains and shallow depressions of Arabia, Iraq and Iran. It is effectively leafless, working through succulent jointed blue-green shoots that give it a fine, almost coral-like texture.

It is one of the most abundant and important native shrubs of the Arabian gravel desert, tolerating salinity, drought and grazing in combination. Specifiers use it for large-scale native restoration, gravel plain revegetation and low shrub mass.

Specifications

• Height0.3 to 1 metre
• Width0.6 to 1.5 metres
• Native toThe Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Iran and the Levant, on gravel plains and shallow depressions
• FoliageEffectively leafless; succulent jointed blue-green shoots carry out photosynthesis; evergreen
• Growth rateModerate

Conditions

• SoilAccepts gravelly, sandy, gypseous and mildly to moderately saline soils; requires free drainage
• LightFull sun
• WaterVery low; strongly drought-tolerant and adapted to shallow depressions that catch occasional runoff
• ClimateThrives in hot arid regions with very low rainfall and is fully adapted to Gulf conditions

Additional Features

• FormLow, dense, rounded mound of fine jointed shoots reading as blue-green texture in mass planting
• UsesLarge-scale native restoration, gravel plain revegetation, low shrub mass, drought forage reserve
• SpacingPlant 1 to 1.5 metres apart for continuous native cover
• Low MaintenanceRequires no irrigation, pruning or feeding once established
• Pest ResistanceFree of significant pest and disease problems
• Salt ToleranceGood tolerance of saline and gypseous soils, holding cover where salinity rises in depressions
• Drought ToleranceVery high, one of the defining shrubs of the Arabian gravel desert
• Environmental BenefitsA keystone species for gravel plain restoration and a critical dry season grazing reserve

The Rimth Saltbush is the native ground shrub of the Arabian gravel plain, and any restoration scheme on that ground should include it.