This is everything you need to know about the Argan tree

This is everything you need to know about the Argan tree

Wild plants offer medical and nutritional benefits, as well as economic opportunities, for communities across the world.

The Argan tree is indigenous to parts of North Africa and provides a living for millions of local people, especially women, through the sale of Argan oil.

The United Nations has given protected status to one region of Morocco where Argan forests are under threat from climate change and deforestation.



Wild plants are used by more than a billion people across the world in a variety of beneficial ways. They are present in the food we eat, medicines we take and even cosmetic products. At least a billion people depend on them for their livelihoods and food security. Between 2000 and 2020 the global trade value of medicinal plants increased by more than 75%. However 20% are at risk of extinction due to habitat loss, unsustainability and climate change according to the United Nations (UN).

One of those is the Argan tree which is native to parts of Morocco, Algeria and the Western Sahara. For centuries it has been a mainstay of the Berber and Arab-origin indigenous rural communities who developed a culture and identity around it.

In Southwest Morocco, renowned for its