The Department of Ecology at the College of Science at the University of Basra organized a seminar on the environmental and economic importance of the Arfaj plant Rhanterium epapposum

The session, in which the student Zahraa Ali Jaafar lectured, aimed to explain the Arfaj plant as one of the most important key species of the desert region in Basra and Iraq, and to clarify the Arfaj plant community and its growth in sandy soils, and to explain its economic importance to the desert dwellers as a source of fodder or fuel and therapeutic fields.

The session touched on the environmental and medical importance of the plant, as its leaf decoction is used to expand the bronchi, improve breathing, and treat allergic asthma.