and other habitats supporting high species diversity with many endemic plants. Oman lies in the transition zone between the Holarctic and Palaeotropical kingdoms, as well as between subtropical and tropical climate zones. This position is reflected by the presence of plant species from several biogeographical regions as demonstrated by the comparatively high number of vascular plants in Oman. A period of intensified botanical research in Oman has taken place over the last two decades. There has been good progress extending our knowledge of the flora of Oman, resulting in the description of 103 new range-restricted species since 1980 and the documentation of new records for the country (Patzelt, 2014). However, detailed studies of the vegetation and plant communities are still scarce and current knowledge ranges from no documentation at all to brief descriptions of the vegetation types or to characterisation of the vegetation units by their complete floristic composition and arranged in a hierarchical system of floristic similarity. Data are also lacking regarding the population parameters and ecology of individual plant species. Oman has a total of 191 range-restricted species, representing 13.6% of the total flora (Patzelt, 2014). This high proportion of range-restricted species (endemics, near endemics and regional endemics) in the Sultanate can be explained by a unique combination of ecological factors that restricted the range of species in the past. Endemics are found in all vegetation types throughout the country. However, some habitats are particularly rich in range-restricted species and are of special interest, encompassing sites of maximum biodiversity. Significant species-rich habitats include the monsoon-affected mountains in southern Oman, the northern Hajar mountains, and the coastal areas of the central desert; these areas represent local centres of plant endemism. History and development of Oman Botanic Garden Following a Royal Decree in 2006 by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, the Oman Botanic Garden project was initiated. The scale and complexity of the project is such that the design and construction work has been divided into multiple phases. Construction of the Oman Botanic Garden started in 2007 with the construction of a native plants nursery on site. The on-site nursery was constructed in 2008 and has been fully functional since then. The nursery now houses one of the largest documented collections of Arabian plants in the world, with ca. 70,000 plants in cultivation. The garden also houses a seed bank with currently ca. 5 million seeds. Most