Flora and vegetation types

The presentation below, 'Flora of North and Central Oman', was given by J. Henrot to engineers of the Petroleum Development Oman as part of the course 'Operating in Sensitive Environments' at the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, in Jaluni, on 2-4 December 2005.

Flora of Oman:

• ca. 1200 species of flowering plants 

• More than half of the species are annuals (includes ephemerals & “weeds” of cultivation)

• Between 1990 - 2005:  52 new species described and at least  20 species are still awaiting formal description

• Of these 72 species, most are endemic or regional endemic

Flora of Oman of North and Central Oman

• ca. 600 flowering plant taxa (half of the country species)

• ca. 24 endemic species 

• Average size of the tallest tree species (e.g. Prosopis cineraria) =  5 m (max. 10 m) 

• 127 plant families

• Most represented plant families:  Poaceae, Compositae, Leguminosae, Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae