''Rhanterium epapposum'' is a plant of the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

. Native to the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula including

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

and

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

where it is known locally as ''arfaj'' (). The ''arfaj'' consists of a complicated network of branches scattered with small thorny leaves and bright yellow flowers about 1.5 cm wide. The ''arfaj'' flower is also the national flower of Kuwait. It is a bushy shrub approximately 80 cm height. The leaves are small and narrow, and in late spring it will start flowering (April–May). It is considered one of the main desert forage plants for camels and sheep. When cold temperature prevails the plant produces leaves quickly after rainfall. In a few months, the branches and newly formed leaves become vigorous, and the yellow flowers are produced, attracting insects and birds. In the summer, when the earth has dried out, the leaves fall and the branches become naked and lignified with living fibers. In times of stress, these alterations may be important in increasing the chance of survival, water and reserve material stored in the stems to remain alive by allowing it to have few dormant bud. When conditions improve, the reserves are transported into buds allowing new growth. ''Arfaj''

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is numerous; it forms in late spring and falls off the branches after maturity. It accumulates under the shrub and remains dormant until favorable conditions for germination prevail. Each fruit contains about 6-8

seeds A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...

that are transported by wind or water.

References

Inuleae Taxa named by Daniel Oliver {{Inuleae-stub