CAIRO--Attributed to a 19th century Native American tribal leader, the motto ‘Take only memories, leave only footprints' has reverberated throughout the world, especially in environments of outstanding natural beauty or special scientific interest designed as protected areas. It is echoed in requests to visitors in notices erected by the Nature Conservation Sector of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) in the 24 National Parks also known as Protectorates, for which it is responsible. They comprise coastal, wetland and desert environments and four have been designated according to their geological significance. In his foreword to the illustrated guidebook Desert Plants of Egypt's Wadi El Gemal National Park by Tamer Mahmoud (AUC Press, 2010), distinguished Egyptian ecologist Dr Mohamed Kassas notes the wide variety of habitat types in "one of Egypt's most spectacular national parks. [It] includes the wadis (drainage systems), associated mountain formations, and stretches of coastal desert and littoral marshes," reflected in the diversity of the plants growing in Wadi El-Gemal in the south of Egypt's Eastern Desert. Dr Kassas further observes that the Wadi El-Gemal National Park (WGNP) has become one of the main ecotourist attractions of the Egyptian Red Sea coast, in which this new Desert Plants guide will be an invaluable companion to visitors. Its author, Tamer Mahmoud, is one of a dedicated group of young Egyptian graduates, working as national park rangers in protected areas the length and breadth of the country, from its desert borders with Libya and Sudan to the Red and Mediterranean Seas. The microbiologist has worked in WGNP since it was established in 2003. Since then, he has taken some 7,000 photographs in the national park representing all habitats, seasons and stages of its plant life. He and his colleagues have surveyed more than 25 main wadis and their tributaries, recording their locations' GPS (Global Positioning System) points. Mahmoud learnt about GIS (Geographical Information System) with the specific aim of making accurate plant distribution maps, which are an innovative feature of his book complementing the 350 colour photographs. As he stresses, the rangers work in close collaboration with local people in these areas, notably the Bedouin guards and guides, with their incomparable knowledge of the desert terrain and plants, to whom he pays full tribute. Today's Ababda people are the main indigenous inhabitants of the protectorate with a discrete culture, herders of grazing camels, sheep and goats, who also collect plants for medicinal use, food, animal fodder, fuel and trade. The importance of the plants to the Ababda is reflected in their naming places after their botanical landmarks and the uses they detailed, which are documented in this book. Following the introductory chapters, the entries for each plant consist of its botanical name in Latin, the common local name in colloquial Arabic, the common English name (where one is known), its description, importance and uses as well as its ecology and distribution. The botanical terminology is explained in the glossary. Of the 140 species that have been recorded in WGNP, 117 are described and illustrated in the book, the product of three years of work, including 165 field trips. The office and the field work continues and Mahmoud states, "Moreover, on every trip I find a new gift, whether a plant, a stage of plant life, a place that I had never seen, or perhaps a better photograph than one I already had, or [received] new information ..." The ranger has also established the park's herbarium and arboretum nursery. Some of the species documented in the guide will be familiar to readers in Egypt and also in other countries, although surprisingly so in this desert context, such as the delicate Maidenhair Fern growing on the moist walls of wells and springs of fresh water. Brilliant splashes of the redddish-purple flowers of Indian Sorrel enliven sandy and stony habitats, while the fragrant yellow flowers of different acacia species attract insects and bids, the multi-use trees providing shade for all comers. "The best meal you can have is under the Sayyal (acacia) tree after a day's field work," says Mahmoud. Ephemerals, appearing after rain, are one of the miracles of nature. The seemingly arid desert, concealing seed banks, can overnight be blanketed with plants, from the succulent and edible to the exquisitely fragile, their flowers and fruits of every hue from the palest pastels to the vibrant colours of the rainbow. The wonderful and diverse plant wealth of WGNP is brought to us in Mahmoud's impressive book.
