Indigenous ornamental flora for arid landscapes

Abstract

The indigenous arid flora can tolerate harsh climatic condition and remains in presentable form during intense summer heat (50°C temperature) and during severe winter frost (-2°C), which makes them highly apposite for arid landscape with round the year acceptability. While most of the exotic ornamentals cannot tolerate extremities of climatic vagaries and showed high mortality and remains in presentable form only during short periods of milder climate or under indoor condition. The native flora of the desert are also crucial for maintaining the biodiversity of the arid eco-systems. Apart from the food and fodder utilization, these desert flora could also serve the purpose of ornamental gardening. Having peculiar characteristics obtained through leaf, stem or other modifications, they are highly suitable as specimen plants in the garden landscapes. The arid flora of the desert eco-system has the additional benefit of less water requirement rendering low maintenance and care compared to other ornamental species of other regions. However, some exotic flora such as bottle brush, bougainvillea, Euphorbia milii, Lantana camera and Jatropha gossypifolia etc. were introduced from other regions and showed high adaptability to arid climatic condition. In this way, the indigenous arid flora have special significance in landscaping of arid region as these are ecologically adaptable and economically viable.