Many of us cannot imagine that roses can grow in the desert.
Desert roses are not quite ordinary roses and you can meet them quite rarely. If you went on an excursion and were able to see stone roses in the desert, this is considered a great success.
In our understanding, flowers should grow from the soil, which enriches them with minerals, moisture and other substances necessary for the life of roses.
However, in the desert they simply do not exist, especially moisture, so the roses here are not quite the same as ours ...
What do roses look like in the desert?
not alive. They don't just grow, but rather form.It takes a lot of time for such a formation, and this process takes place not throughout the desert, but in some places.
It is customary to call the area where the main localization of roses in the desert is concentrated, the Valley of Flowers.
The materials that make up roses are crystals. They in turn consist of salt, sand and water.
Gradually accumulating, moisture falls on the surface of the salt, and the winds bring sands.
Stick to wet surfaces bulk materials, which are formed due to the movement of air and natural processes accumulation.
When a rose in the desert is already formed, it can be found at a depth of about a meter in the sands.
These natural materials they dig up and decorate the streets of African settlements with them, bring them to other cities where you can sell and earn money.
Roses of the Sahara - great option for gifts among the local people.
The stone desert rose has no smell, it does not have a velvety surface, but it does not fade either.
This is an ordinary stone that is formed in the shape of a flower, which is why it is called so.
Why is this stone called the desert rose?
Despite the fact that such a "plant" is not alive, it can bloom. All thanks to the unique properties of sulfates, which are contained in the stone.
At the same time, a stone flower blooms after it hits an open surface, in contact with air and wind.
The color of desert roses is beige, even rather flesh. But the petals have a sharp shape - the salt is coarse, it can scratch the skin.
By the way, the colors of roses in different deserts do not always match.
There can be many shades of flesh and beige, and in some regions it is quite possible to find even black roses, white and some others.
However, black flowers are, rather, the highlight of the Argentine deserts, but white ones can.
Why roses do not grow in all deserts
In the Sahara desert, stone roses can be found far from everywhere. The explanation for this is quite concise and simple. It can be described in the process of forming roses:
- when precipitation appears in the desert, which is quite rare here, they fall on the surface of the sand and are immediately absorbed;
- gypsum, which is found in large quantities in sand, acquires a hard texture upon contact with water;
- the water evaporates quickly, but only after the hype heats up and turns into crystals, and then into desert roses.
Therefore, desert roses can only appear where the sand contains a large number of plaster.
What do roses symbolize in the desert of Africa
The roses of the Sahara desert are perceived by the inhabitants of Africa in a completely different way than by us.
They sincerely believe that these roses are the result of the deadly love of men who go to the desert in search of a cure for their loved ones.
When they cry, moisture appears and stone roses grow from it, and this happens only after the death of the beloved girls of the guys.
There is also a tradition in which the inhabitants of the northern countries of Africa specifically look for stone roses in order to give one of them to a bride who wants to get married.
On the day of the wedding, the bride's parents give her a stone flower, which symbolizes love and care, a warm family hearth and a lot of bright emotions from living together with her husband.
The Sahara desert is rich in such gifts, which actually carry all sorts of symbols for local tribes and even residents of large cities.
IN last years African desert roses are imported overseas, although this is prohibited.
For example, in America, a stone rose from the desert on Valentine's Day is a real highlight. It symbolizes unfading love that will live forever.
Living roses in the desert
In the deserts of Africa there are real roses. More precisely, they do not look like roses at all, but for some reason they are called that way on this continent.
The official name is adenium. The flower looks like home plant, can grow at home, on the windowsill. By itself, it is also found in the wild, in Central and South Africa.
Poisonous and adenium, they can neither be applied to wounds, nor, moreover, eat. Therefore, people who wish to have such a plant at home should remember that it should not be available to children and animals.
In Africa, adenum is quite rare, and it looks somewhat poor.
The height of a living rose from the desert is about a meter. The flowers are always pink, but the foliage and stems have a somewhat unhealthy appearance. However, for the desert area - this is normal.
Such is that many flowers here are used for rituals.
Adenum is no exception, and sometimes tribesmen go to the desert in search of this plant.
Desert Rose September 2nd, 2015
We have already considered a lot of unusual snow formations. Well, for example, let me remind you about, but there is more, but let's get back to our roses.
In Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and some other countries where there are many sandy deserts, an unusual mineral called the "desert rose" is a very popular souvenir among tourists. In their form, these formations resemble flowers, most often roses, although their shape may be completely different from flowers.
So what is it and how does it happen...
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Such minerals are intergrowths of gypsum crystals formed in a layer of sand. "Desert rose" occurs only under certain conditions, when precipitation falls in the desert. Water quickly disappears into dry sand, carrying gypsum particles deep into it. During evaporation, the water rises again to the surface, forming new twisted gypsum crystals.
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Sand also becomes part of the crystal, and its size can be very diverse. "Desert Rose" is sold both in the form of an ordinary crystal, and in the form of simple key rings, souvenirs, pendants and other jewelry.
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The nomadic tribes of the Sahara have been familiar with these bizarrely shaped stones since ancient times. After a difficult transition, reaching the oasis, people and camels quenched their thirst and rested. Camel urine eroded the sand and a “desert rose” appeared on the surface. In the old days, it was believed that these peculiar “flowers” are formed precisely from camel urine.
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The diameter of the petals ranges from 2 - 3 millimeters to several decimeters. The color of the crystals depends entirely on the color of the sand in which they formed. White "desert roses" are found in the Tunisian Sahara, black - in the deserts of Argentina.
Such spectacular intergrowths can be found in many places on our planet with a desert climate and sandy soils enriched with gypsum. Of course, due to high content sand, such gypsum is not used in construction. But the "desert rose" is highly valued by collectors and jewelry lovers. In recent years, the demand for these beautiful stones has grown so much that the Algerian government has banned their export.
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In some countries, it is customary to give the "desert rose" on Valentine's Day as a symbol of unfading love.
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A charming garden will fill your garden with unique tints of color. rose Sahara (Sahara). It is perfect for true connoisseurs. bright colors and emotions. The two-tone color of similar shades smoothly fading from orange to yellow-crimson, will give any area a unique light and fill your hearts with warmth.
Feature of buds roses Sahara is the ability to change color. So saturated yellow petals closer to the center of the bud acquire a bright orange hue. Remarkably, with the duration of flowering, they can change to lemon yellow, with a raspberry border around the edges. Rose flowers are quite large, sometimes up to 7 cm in diameter, grow in groups in beautiful racemes and have a light but very fantastic aroma. Their number on one branch can reach from 5 to 10 pieces. The continuous flowering of the bush will not take long, thus rose Sahara will delight you throughout the season.
Bright spreading bushes roses Sahara capable of reaching a height of 1.2 meters, and sometimes even higher. They are completely strewn with bright buds. The foliage of the bush is very resistant to disease and frost. rose sahara will look great both in single plantings and in mixed groups.
The root system of a Sahara rose seedling (Sahara) for shipment to the customer, it is packed in an individual package of peat mixture wrapped in a film, so that your seedling will come alive and full of strength.
Buy seedlings of Sahara roses (Sahara) You can click the "Add to Cart" button and place your order.
Packing type: rose roots are packed in a moist nutrient substrate, tightly wrapped in a film, have a label indicating the variety. Permissible shelf life in the package without loss of quality, subject to storage conditions up to 3 months. Sending orders with rose seedlings is made in the autumn and spring planting season (shipping restrictions in accordance with climate zone customer).
Desert Rose stone - sounds intriguing, and gives a lot of room for imagination. Especially for those who have never been to North Africa and did not bring home unique gypsum souvenirs made by nature itself.
How does she do it?
A desert rose may not form in every desert, and not from every material. Nature for its creations uses special sand - with a high content of gypsum. Designed by her technological process looks like this: first it rains, and the sand is wetted with water. Gypsum, which is in the sand, is washed out, and together with water tends down, deep into the surface, which is heated under the hot rays of the sun. We all remember the stories of travelers that chicken eggs in the desert, you can bake directly in the sand without using heaters.
So, a well-calcined layer of sand shares its temperature with water, and pushes it up, after which it simply evaporates. Particles of gypsum again keep the water company, and rise up with it. Gypsum wetted with water is known to set very quickly, in this case it hardens into unique lenticular shaped crystals that look a lot like a rose with thin petals.
Thus, the desert rose stone is an intergrowth of gypsum crystals. But the shape and size of the splices are not always "floral", they can be very diverse. They are given a certain shape during processing.
The gypsum in this creation is not entirely pure, it contains sand and other impurities that slightly change its color. The desert rose can form not only in the Sahara, gypsum flowers are also found in other regions of the planet, for example, in deserts North America, Australia, Argentina. The samples found there have other colors and shades. Most often, their color is determined by the sand that is in this area, they are light or dark beige, white or black samples are less common. Sometimes sellers paint them, giving the desired color.
Note that not only sand determines the structure of the stone, it also contains mineral salts, so it is durable, and the petals are so hard and sharp that you can cut your fingers on them.
The diameter of the petals is different - from a few millimeters to 2-3 decimeters, the number of petals in the splice also varies. Roses with a large number of petals are especially valued. Overall though, they are not overly expensive. Pebbles weighing up to 50 grams are sold at a price of 200-300 rubles. Larger and more attractive samples are not much more expensive.
Attractive-looking stones are sold to tourists by local residents of North African countries. accompanying the trade in local tales and legends. The number of tourists is constantly growing, and roses are not found as often as we would like. Therefore, the authorities of some countries, for example, Algeria, have issued a law prohibiting the export of desert roses outside the country.
Some of them end up in private collections, while the most beautiful are used for manufacturing. jewelry. Gypsum is a rather fragile material, such jewelry must be protected from everything - bumps, falls, temperature changes, and so on.
stone magic
People love to surround everything beautiful and unusual with legends and mysticism, so the desert rose was endowed with magical properties. The Bedouins, who drove caravans with goods across the Sahara, have long noticed an unusual formation. They believed that the stone was formed as a result of the urine of camels falling on the sand. Perhaps they are right about something - urine is also a liquid, and falls into the same mass of sand heated by the sun. There is also a belief that the desert rose is formed as a result of a lightning strike on the sand.
For its durability in comparison with a living rose, the stone is considered a symbol of unfading love, and is given as a keepsake to loved ones.
In the countries of North Africa, the desert rose symbolizes true love and family happiness. Young girls are given a stone so that they get married as soon as possible. At the wedding, her parents present the young with a desert rose so that the family hearth never fades away, so that the spouses live a long and happy life.
Occultists attribute to the desert rose the ability to rid the wearer of pride. And it really has rational grain- all earthly riches and glory are very fragile and short-lived, they can be destroyed in an instant from the slightest impact from outside, just like this fragile stone. And one should not be very proud of one's wealth and achievements, there is no need to rely too much on them.
Getting to a person, the desert rose constantly reminds that the value system should be reconsidered. And he puts especially slow-witted proud people in situations in which inflated self-esteem is reduced to a normal level.
People who are not self-confident, the desert rose strengthens in their good intentions, makes them more calm, relieves suspiciousness and a tendency to depression.
The stone also helps overly impulsive and quick-tempered people. Therefore, it is necessary to have it in the form of an amulet or decoration for representatives of fire signs - Aries, Sagittarius, Lions, as well as Capricorns. The desert rose will help them become more reasonable and restrained.
