Oman's Sidr trees can live up to 350 years

Sidr trees are spread in many valleys, plains and high places in the Sultanate and are cultivated on the roadsides. It is a perennial tree that grows in areas with seasonal rains.

The Omani Encyclopedia has devoted the fifth volume for Sidr Trees and addressed the scientific classification of Sidr trees, which are referred by several local names, including Sidra, Dheed, Alab, Oud, Canar, and wild Sidr and dhabeed.

According to the Omani Encyclopedia, the Sidr tree is considered as one of the large and perennial trees found in the Sultanate and are spread widely in areas like Al Rawda Natural Park in Musandam Governorate comprising nearly 90% of the trees planted in the governorate.

The oldest Sidr trees are found in the village of Al Madam in the Wilayat of Yanqul in Al Dhahirah Governorate, while another Sidra in the village of Al Subaikhi in the Wilayat of Ibri is estimated by the locals to be 350 years old. These trees can live long lives in fact two trees, one in Al Mazem in Ibri and the other in Suqa in the Wilayat of Quriyat in the Governorate of Muscat are reported to be around 250 years old. A Sidra tree in Al Faiqin in the Wilayat of Manah is also reported to have exceeded 150 years.

The encyclopedia also highlighted the characteristics and types of Sidra, its height, whereabouts, its spread, its adaptation to different environmental and climatic conditions, and the places of its cultivation inside and outside the Sultanate. It explained that it is grown from North Africa to Afghanistan and in the eastern region of northwestern India, as well as in the Arabian Peninsula in order to benefit from its fruits and timber.

The Omani Encyclopedia included an accurate description of the components of Sidra, its leaves, fruits, maturity, flowering season and its transformation into fruits from September to November. It pointed out that Sidr trees grow in sandy soils and hot and temperate areas, as they are drought-tolerant and grow well below an altitude of (914) meters from sea level.

The Omani encyclopedia also clarified the benefits of the Sidr tree, as it is an important source for honey bees and is called Sidr honey. The leaves and branches of the Sidr tree are a place and a source of food for some birds, reptiles and mammals, and livestock feed on the leaves of this tree in times of drought.

On the benefit of Sidr trees, the Omani Encyclopedia covered several areas, including Sidr wood, which is included in many Omani traditional industries such as boats, coal, heating and cooking, in addition to making use of its wood in the manufacture of some different tools. the Sidr leaves are used in the Sultanate in the past before the appearance of soap and detergents. It was mashed and ground and then the body and hair were cleaned with it.

some places in the Sultanate are named after the Sidr trees due to their importance of the Omani man in the past and the huge availability of the tree such as Sidra in the Wilayat of Mahut and Al Sedira in the Wilayat of Al Mudhaibi and Al Sadirat in the Wilayat of Al Amerat and Wardat al-Sidr in the Wilayat of Wadi al-Ma'awil and Tawi al Sidr in the Wilayat of Mahdha.