Photos: Timeless shades of ghaf, UAE’s national tree

Through the hot summers and scorching temperatures, through the winds that blow fiercely in a shamal, through the seasons and years and decades, it has stood firm, its roots deep in the UAE soil, its resolute form a thing of beauty.

A solitary Ghaf tree in the desert. In 2008, the tree was declared as the national tree of the UAE.

A misty morning glow blends with the ghaf tree-dotted landscape in Maiiha desert.

Ghaf trees dot the vast expanse of the Maliha desert in Sharjah. The ghaf is a keystone species having multiple benefits.

A ghaf tree forms a perfect silhouette at dusk in the Maliha desert.

An Arabian oryx takes a breather in the shade of a ghaf tree in Abu Dhabi.

Mascots of Expo 2020 Dubai — Latifa, Rashid and Salama the ghaf tree.

This sturdy, evergreen ghaf tree can withstand prolonged drought and high salinity.

Ghaf trees at Maliha desert in Sharjah. The ghaf woodlands support large populations of insects, which in turn.

One of the very old ghaf tree at the desert near Al Khazna area in Abu Dhabi during the search for protected ghaf trees.The ghaf tree, UAE’s national tree, whose leaf is the motif for the Year of Tolerance, has soothed generations in its shade.

An Arabian oryx takes a breather in the shade of a ghaf tree in Abu Dhabi.

Ghaf trees at Maliha desert in Sharjah.

Ghaf trees at Maliha desert in Sharjah.

Ghaf trees at Maliha desert in Sharjah.