Flora

Flora of Jordan

Vegetation of Jordan

In 1985, the 13 vegetation types below were identified in Jordan by Professor Dawud Al-Eisawi.

The first five vegetation types correspond to whole habitats we are re-creating within the Royal Botanic Garden.

• Aleppo Pine Vegetation: Found in forests at high altitudes, starting at 700 m above sea level. Examples are found in Jerash, Dibeen, Ajloun and Zai.

• Deciduous Oak Forest: Grows at lower altitudes than most of Jordan’s forests, in Um Qais, Yarmouk River, Ajloun and near King Talal dam.

• Juniper Forest: Found in the southern highlands of Jordan, usually at altitudes exceeding 1000 m a.s.l, in areas that receive an annual snowfall like Rashadiyya, Dana in Tafila, Shawbak and Wadi Musa. Often Cypress and Pistachio grow alongside the Juniper.

• Tropical Vegetation: Resembles Sudanian vegetation and dominant near the Dead Sea, although most areas representing this vegetation have been turned into farms, except in Ghor Fifa.

• Water Vegetation: Found in wadis and around springs and watercourses, in locations such as Yarmouk River, Zarqa River, Wadi Shu’aib, Wadi Mujib and Wadi Al Hasa.

• Saline Vegetation: Characterized by plants that tolerate a high salt content in the soil, found in the Saharo-Arabian zone around Azraq oasis, in the Ghor area and along the Dead Sea shore.

• Evergreen Oak Forest: Grows at above 700 m asl, found in Ajloun, Jarash, Salt, Tafila, and between Shawbak and Petra.

• Sand Dune Vegetation: Characterized by shrubs that are able to fix sand dunes that might reach 3 m in height, well represented in Wadi Araba and Wadi Rum.

• Acacia Vegetation: Found in mountainous and rocky areas of Wadi Araba, Aqaba, Wadi Yutum  and Wadi Rum .

• Mediterranean Non-Forest Vegetation: Composed of shrubs, following degradation of a forest.

• Steppe Vegetation: Characterized by bushes and shrubs, in the Irano-turanian zone with a few penetrations in the Saharo-Arabian and Mediterranean zones, as seen in Mujib.

• Mud Flat Vegetation: Found in the Saharo-Arabian zone, especially where water is present along with mud and granite soils, as in Azraq and Al Jafer.

• Hammad Vegetation: Forms most of the Saharo-Arabian zone, characterized by vegetation that can tolerate the salinity and hot weather such as in the Eastern Desert.