Included here is the southeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula including Oman and the eastermost parts of the United Arab Emirates.

Omanian Semi-Desert Grassland

These grasslands once dominated the southern coastal plains, but much has now been lost to human intervention and over grazing. Nevertheless, after rain grasses and ephemeral herbs still appear over relatively large areas. Scattered trees of Acacia tortilis are also present together with various xerophytic shrubs such as Caesalpinia erianthera and species of Cadaba and Commiphora. Associated species include Adenium obesum, Euphorbia cactus, Kleinia odora, Sansevieria ebrenbergii and the endemic Caralluma flava (Apocynaceae). At the foot of mountain slopes there is a distinctive zone dominated by the endemic Boscia arabica (Capparidaceae). This zone is also important for the generic endemic Cibirhiza dhofarensis (Apocynaceae) together with the endemic or near endemic Croton confertus (Euphorbiaceae) and Jatropha dhofarica (Euphorbiaceae).

References

Cope, T. A. 1988. The Flora of the Sands. Journal of Oman Studies, No. 3: 305-312.

Fisher, M., Ghazanfar, S. A. & Spalton, A. 1999. The Natural History of Oman. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden.

Frey, W & Kürschner, H.1986. Masqat area (Oman). Remnants of vegetation in an urban habitat. In: Contributions to the Vegetation of Southwest Asia. Ed. H. Kürschner. Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag.

Ghazanfar, S. A. 1999. Coastal vegetation of Oman. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 49: 21-27.

Ghazanfar, S. A. 2004. Biology of the Central Desert of Oman. Turkish Journal of Botany, 28: 65-71.

Ghazanfar, S. A. & Fisher, M. 1998. Vegetation of the Arabian Peninsula. Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Miller, A. G. & Nyberg, J. A. 1991. Patterns of endemism in Arabia. Flora et Vegetatio Mundi, 9: 263-279.

Radcliffe-Smith, A. 1980. The vegetation of Dhofar. Journal of Oman Studies, Special Report No. 2: 59-86.

Zohary, M., Heyn, C. C. & Heller, D. 1980. Conspectus Florae Orientalis. The Israel Academy of Science and Humanities. Jerusalem.