Tamarisk

In the Qur’ān, tamarisk or athal is a kind of tree that grew in a wasteland after the flood sent to the tribe of Saba’ destroyed their cultivated fields.

Tamarisk, Tamarix aphylla has a high resistance to saline soils, and its termite-proof timber is popular in the Arabian Peninsula as a building material and for useful objects.

It is found across the Mediterranean region to southern Africa, and from the Arabian Peninsula through Iran and Pakistan to central Asia.

Painted from specimens found in Umm Al Quwain by the old main road north to Ras Al Khaimah, UAE.

Completed painting size: 53 x 71cm
Habit x 7, flower dissection x 15, enlarged leaf gland x 20
Watercolour on paper