Medemia argun (argun palm)

Medemia argun (Image: W. Baker)

Medemia argun is restricted to a few localities in the Nubian Desert oases of southern Egypt and northern Sudan. This region is so arid that consecutive years pass without any rain falling.

Medemia argun, as with all desert palms, can only grow in oases where ground water occurs.

Medemia argun (Image: W. Baker)

The argun palm is a dramatic single-stemmed tree palm with fan-shaped leaves that are glaucous blue (blueish-green with a whitish bloom) and have bright yellow petioles (leaf stalks). It is dioecious, meaning that individuals are either male or female. It produces inflorescences (flower-bearing parts) with numerous catkin-like branches. The female bears plum-shaped fruits which are purple-black when ripe. The fruit flesh is very thin and surrounds a large seed. The fruits fall from the tree and lie baking in the intense desert sun. Though desert mammals appear to eat the flesh, the main dispersal agent could be water during flash floods following very infrequent rains. Germinating seeds root very deeply indeed, presumably as an adaptation to finding ground water as quickly as possible.

Exploitation of the leaves of Medemia argun is of serious concern (Image: Haitham Ibrahim)

The habitats in which Medemia argun occurs are sparsely inhabited. Nevertheless, the palm has experienced considerable pressure. Records from the late 19th century onwards indicate that exploitation of the leaves of Medemia has been a serious concern for many years, and evidence of destructive leaf harvesting can be found even today. In most sites, the population size is very small and vulnerable to accidental damage or even vandalism (for example by burning). None of the known Medemia populations falls within a protected area.

A team led by the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, in collaboration with Kew's palm experts, is currently exploring the oases of the Egyptian Nubian Desert to complete a census of Medemia populations in the area and work towards a conservation management plan of the oases and their palms.

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The leaves are used for weaving, for example to make ropes. It has been reported that the fruits are edible, but with so little fruit flesh and so hard a seed, it is hard to imagine them being palatable. According to Loutfy Boulos, the fruits are buried for a period, during which the endosperm develops a sweet taste similar to coconut.

There are several archaeological specimens of Medemia argun in Kew's economic botany collections. Kew also holds specimens collected by Speke and Grant on their celebrated expedition to discover the source of the Nile in 1863.

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