Haloxylon ammodendron, the saxaul, black saxaul, sometimes sacsaoul or saksaul (, which is from ), is a plant belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. Description The saxaul ranges in size from a large shrub to a small tree, , rarely tall. It has a brown trunk up to in diameter. The wood is heavy and coarse and the bark is spongy and water-soaked. The branches of the current year are green; older branches are brown, or gray to white. The leaves are reduced to very small cusp-like scales, so that the plant appears nearly leafless. The infloresences consist of short lateral shoots borne on stems of the previous year. The flowers are bisexual or male, very small, as long as or shorter than the bracteoles. The flowering period is from March to April. In fruit, the perianth segments develop spreading pale brown or white wings. The diameter of the winged fruit is about . The seed is in diameter. The fruiting period is October to November. Taxonomy The species was first published in 1829 by Carl Anton von Meyer as Anabasis ammodendron C.A.Meyer. In 1851 Alexander Bunge combined it to genus Haloxylon as Haloxylon ammodendron (C.A.Meyer) Bunge. Synonyms are: Arthrophytum ammodendron (C.A.Meyer) Litw., Arthrophytum haloxylon Litw., Haloxylon pachycladum M.Pop., and Haloxylon aphyllum (Minkw.) Iljin.. A related saxaul species is Haloxylon persicum (or white saxaul). Distribution and habitat The saxaul is distributed in the lowlands of Central Asiaincluding southern Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, western Uzbekistan, Iran, west Afghanistan, Mongolia and China, namely Xinjiang and Gansu. It also occurs incidentally in the west of Kirghizstan and Tajikistan. It is a psammophyte, and grows in sandy deserts, on sand dunes, and in steppe up to above sea level. In Central Asia it often forms 'saxaul forests', in Iran it usually grows more scattered. It also grows in the sandy parts of Saudi Arabia. Ecology Turcmenigena varentzovi (saxaul longhorn beetle, Varentsov's longhorn beetle) is a pest of the black saxaul tree in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Dark cone-like galls are often found on the plants. A parasitic plant, Cistanche deserticola, that grows on the roots of the saxaul is prized in Chinese medicine as the 'ginseng of the desert'. Uses Saxaul is planted on a large scale in the afforestation of arid areas in China. Being highly drought-resistant, it has played an important role in the establishment of shelter belts and the fixation of sand dunes as