A feathery tree of the Nile valley and the desert edge (Tamarix nilotica), its slender branchlets clothed in tiny scale-like leaves, hardy against salt and drought; one of Egypt's commonest native trees, grown in gardens for shade and found wild along the river and the wadis. Its wood served for fuel and small woodwork. Under drought it sheds its fine green twigs to save water, an early sign of a garden left unwatered.