THE ARGAN TREE

The last tree that grows in the South before the Sahara, related to tropical species, the argan tree is the most emblematic tree of the country: it is found only in Morocco.

It exists mainly in the southwest, from Safi to the Souss and the Western Anti-Atlas, up to a hundred kilometres from the Atlantic.

Today, the survival of argan groves is due to the use of its oil.

A botanical rarity in danger

A tree of a dry region, with annual rains of 100 to 250 mm, the argan tree must find water other than in the ground.

At night, its foliage condenses atmospheric humidity which it finds near the ocean and which falls to the ground. In winter, it is not recommended to sleep under an argan tree, because it rains there! Its reproduction is only possible during the rare wet years. Unfortunately, germinations are often attacked by mould, or devoured by flocks.

Reproduction is therefore exceptional. Finally, in the plain of the Souss, the drop in the water table, which was overexploited, killed many trees.

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