Wild Plant Garden

Wild Plant Garden

Wild Plant Garden

The plants in the desert are all extremely hardy species. To combat drought, most of them have evolved their leaves into scale-like or thread-like forms, using tender branches for respiration and photosynthesis. Their stems may be covered in white fuzz or appear silvery-white to reflect sunlight and reduce moisture evaporation. They all have well-developed root systems — a vertical root can extend more than 5 meters deep into the sand, while lateral roots can spread out over dozens of meters. The main desert plants in the Kalameili Mountain area include Populus euphratica, Haloxylon persicum, white-leaved Calligonum, Tamarix chinensis, Reaumuria soongarica, Anabasis salsa, Halimodendron halodendron, Hippophae rhamnoides, Ephedra intermedia, Aristida pennata, Astragalus gebleri, Seriphidium transiliense, Seriphidium terrae-albae, Ceratoides latens, Stipa capillata, Carex, Phragmites, Achnatherum splendens, Allium mongolicum, and Agropyron cristatum. In addition, there are also valuable medicinal herbs such as Cynomorium songaricum and Cistanche deserticola.