Farsetia longisiliqua Decne.
Ara.(SE Egypt): Huk, (Sudan): dahaian, dakhevan, um ghareiga
Perennial plant, with a woody base, up to 60(80) cm in height. Stems highly branched. Leaves 1-5(7) × 0.1-0.5 cm, linear. Racemes lax, that notably elongate during fruiting, with 8-15 flowers. Sepals 0.6-1 cm. Petals 1.2-2 cm, pink or pale yellow with purple markings. Silique 2.5-4.5(5) × 0.25-0.5 cm, narrowly oblong, with style 0.5-2 mm, and decurrent stigma. Seeds 1-2 mm, excluding the wings which measure 0.5-1.5 mm.
Flowering:
November to June, after rainfall in the Sahara.
Fruiting:
1-2 months after flowering.
Habitat:
Desert terrains, silty or rocky, rare in sandy terrain. Wadis and rocky slopes.
Distribution:
NE Africa from Egypt to Somalia and Arabia.
Observations:
In the southern Sahara there are further species from the same genus, but which are herbaceous or only slightly lignified at the base of the stems, such as F. stenoptera Hochst and F. stylosa R.Br. (F. hamiltonii Royle, F. ramosissima Hochst. ex E.Fourn.), distributed from the Atlantic Ocean to India.
Conservation status:
Rare but widely distributed species. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.