Ghaf

The ghaf is a type of acacia tree that is widely spread across Ruleska and the more arid parts of Yalanbari and Jalanjhur.It has also become naturalized in Raziya. Ghaf is highly drought-resistant and can survive extremely high temperatures as well, allowing it to survive and even thrive in hot regions where little water is available. Like other acacias, it has bipinnate leaves with multiple leaflets and sharply thorned branches. It produces puffs of small greenish-yellow to creamy-yellow flowers in spring, followed later on by seed pods. The bark is greyish-brown, and its trunk often has a twisted look to it. Typically the ghaf is not a large tree, no more than 10-16 feet in height, but this is sufficient to provide shade that is much valued by people living in its desert environs.

Uses

The ghaf is chiefly valued for shade and forage, since it grows where other plants are sparse and its nutritious leaves are readily consumed by livestock. For their part, people may use the seeds to make flour, and the wood to create durable wooden implements. The leaves also have medicinal value as an anti-inflammatory, their juice being used to treat ulcers of the mouth.