What’s a forest of ghaf trees called?

Are ghaf leaves and pods edible?

What do ghaf trees have to do with tree huggers?

What might you find if you dig around ghaf trees?

This episode is dedicated to the ghaf tree, the national tree of the UAE and a symbol of tolerance. This amazingly resilient, drought-tolerant plant survives in the harshest of desert environments. Bedouins depended on all parts of the tree for their survival -- for shade, food, and medicinals. Many animals would not survive in the desert without the ghaf, and the tree is the home to the world's largest beetle outside the Brazilian rainforest. The ghaf is so important to life in the UAE that it is the subject of many poems and stories, some a bit scary. Today the tree is endangered, but luckily there are some amazing people who share a love of the ghaf and who are each in their own way working to protect it for the future.

Listen as landscape architect Will Bennett; Give-A-Ghaf Tree Planting Initiative founder Tatiana Antonelli Abella; and journalist and artist Rym Ghazal TELL US MORE.

Find Out More!

Information on how to get more involved in the Give-A-Ghaf Tree Planting initiative can be found here.

Episode Credits

This episode of TELL ME MORE was brought to you by Amaeya Media. It was produced and edited by Liz McEnaney and hosted by Spatika and Liz. Our fantastic music is composed by Daniel Belquer.

A big thank you to Will Bennett, Tatiana Antonelli Abella, Rym Ghazal, and Olivier Carbone (beekeeper and honey maker extraordinaire). They’re very important people and we’re grateful to them.