Whilst looking for lars in the Dibdibah palins of northern Saudi Arabia
I found a very strongly scented plant growing on the sand all on its own. I had
no idea what it was so asked Irene Linning an expert in Arabian plants who told
me it was probably Horwoodia dicksoniae
an annual herb with pinnately lobed leaves, up to 40 centimetres high. Leaves
ovate to oblong. Flowers in terminal racemes, strongly fragrant, petals purple
or violet. Silicles orbicular, glabrous and glossy when mature. They grow on stable
sandy to silty soils often overlying hard rock plains. They occur mainly in the
northwest of the Eastern Province. I thanks Irene for her help with the identification of this plant.
