At the mention of the word Karakum, a wide steppe, like a Turkmen soul, comes to life before your eyes with its unique flora. The Karakum steppe is a natural heritage of our country.
There are forests of low-growing trees and shrubs in the Karakum Desert. There are 300-600 such trees and shrubs per hectare. The main plant of these forests is saxaul. This coniferous tree is of two types - white saxaul and black saxaul. Branches of white saxaul are rare and short, black saxaul are thick and long. Forests of saxaul, especially white saxaul, are mainly found in the sandy parts of the steppe. The height of the saxaul reaches from 2-3 to 5 meters, and the length of the roots is up to 9 meters. Additional, horizontally growing roots up to 7.5 meters long strengthen the soil and prevent the movement of sands. The roots of saxaul, especially black saxaul, reach underground waters, so it can easily endure even extreme heat. Black saxaul grows mainly in places where there is groundwater, on the plains.
Saxaul lives on average 30, in some cases 50 years. This plant reproduces by seeds. Saxaul blooms in March, April. In November, its seeds fully ripen.
The main tree of the Karakum is saxaul, which has been widely used by our people in their lives since ancient times. Saxaul coals smolder for a long time and give a very strong heat, which makes it indispensable as firewood. Food cooked on saxaul has a special taste.
Saxaul is also used in folk medicine. The smoke of saxaul calms the nervous system. And a decoction of needles was used for infections of the gastrointestinal tract. Scientists note the possibility of obtaining raw material for the chemical industry from the ashes of saxaul. Our ancestors used the ashes of saxaul as an alkali in the processing of animal skins. Saxaul needles are excellent food for animals grazing in the Karakum Desert.
The scientist Soltansha Ataniyazov writes about the origin of the word saxaul as follows: “The name of this desert plant, the firewood of which gives a strong heat in ancient Turkic was pronounced like, syuksyuk, soksok, and later in the colloquial speech of the Turkic population of the Golden Horde as sexevul”
Currently, under the leadership of the Leader of the Nation, large-scale work is being carried out to ensure the ecological well-being of the country, protect the environment, respect for nature, preserve its biodiversity, which, in turn, will enrich and pass on to the next generations the flora of the Karakum.
