Searching for Lakes in Wadi Natroun
One the edge of the Great Western (Libyan) Desert of Egypt, and just outside the Nile Valley, ±90km north of Cairo, lies Wadi Natroun (Wadi Natroun, Wadi El Natroun). It is 23m below Sea Level and 38m below the level of the nearest branch of the Nile – giving it the characteristic, amongst others, of being spectacularly hot for plant collecting – and contains a series of unconnected lakes arranged along the floor of the Wadi in a roughly north-westerly orientation. Under the lakes are saline deposits rich in natural soda (Natroun – used for embalming during the mummification process of Ancient Egyptians), on their floors is thick, goooey, clayey, dark, mud. From the botanical perspective the northern shores of the lakes, where they begin to rise from the floor of the Wadi, intersect the freshwater table (which is noticeably cold on the bare foot) and here swamp vegetation has established on several of the lakes.
Agriculture and mining for the salts has impinged here, as in so many places, hence the landscape isn’t exactly as described by Professor El-Hadidi, in his 1971 paper, which describes the discovery of a small population of, he believed, native Papyrus on the shores of one of the Lakes in Wadi Natroun, Um-Risha, amongst Typha spp., Phragmites and other plant associates, these two of course more than capable of hiding any number of plants, and certainly capable of hiding this reportedly small form of Papyrus, not exceeding 1.2m in height (strong plants growing in the right conditions can obtain 5m, and all the plants seen on this journey in Israel and Egypt regularly obtained 2.5-3m).
Recent searches for Papyrus at Um Risha, by Prof. Monier Abd. El-Ghani and others have failed to find it and it’s thought by local experts that it may already have disappeared, a victim of the soda extraction. This is important, because after its original discovery, taxonomic work led to the plants at this lake being described as a new, endemic subspecies of Papyrus to Egypt. Lake Umm Risha is the Type locality, and the protologues suggests that there is only one specimen – the Type at the University of Cairo Herbarium.
Guides from the Cairo Agricultural Research Station were unfamiliar with the lake system in Wadi Natroun, not helped by the re-shaping of the appearance and boundaries of the lakes by soda extraction, agricultural encroachment and other causes of drying up that’s happened since Prof. El-Hadidi published his simplistic map which showed the population’s location. And, of course, this is a remote area and so online technological crutches failed us.
This meant that at first we went to a very beautiful Lake with water (of the right colour and lots of suitable habitat) thinking it to be Umm Risha.
Lake Hammra, Wadi Natroun in the early morning haze, it's not yet 7.00 am.
Fortunately, after some fruitless searching, I went to a nearby eco-lodge to ask if they knew anything of the Papyrus’ location, they didn’t but we found we’d been searching Lake Hammra! We went to another lake, which also had water, after long, patient searching. Again believing it to be Umm Risha. Dr. Rizk later worked out it was Lake Fasda.
Lake Fasda, Wadi Natroun
On our way home we stopped to take ‘photos of an extraordinary looking lake, clearly very heavily saline. Later we worked out this was Lake Umm Risha.!
Lake Umm Risha, Wadi Natroun, following heavy water extraction and mining for Soda.
Searching for Papyrus
At Lake Fasda the foreshore vegetation comprised relatively short Juncus rigidus Desf. in the main. In places tamarisk (Tamariscus spp.) was invading suggesting it was drying out. Areas of suitable habitat were restricted to a small fringe at the edge of the lake. This was the only area in which Typha ssp. and Phragmites occurred. The whole eastern shore of the lake was searched, paying particular attention to the Typha and Phragmites stands. These communities were searched on both the shore ward and lake ward sides in their entirety, approximately 1km of lake shore. Bare areas of mud at the waterline were also checked for seedling establishment.
Lake Fasda, Wadi Natroun, foreshore vegetation, a narrow fringe of tall Typha spp. can be seen close to the edge of the lake.
It has been noted that this population of Papyrus is short in height, 1.2m compared to the norm of 4-5 m further south in Africa. This was factored in to the search.
The tranquil and lovely Lake Hammra, to the north-west of real Lake Umm Risha, was searched in part. It proved to have a great expanse of suitable habitat in which the associated species described by El-Hadidi were largely present, including both species of Typha, Phragmites, Cyperus laevigatus L., and Samolus valerandi L. A Senecio ssp. and Juncus rigida were also frequent. The Typha stands were dense and could easily have hidden depauperate growth of Papyrus. The marsh, unlike Fasda, appeared healthily fed by fresh water, flowing gently into the lake in places. Despite the ambient conditions, temperature in excess of 42 degrees in the shade, this inflow was surprisingly cool. It was also noted that there was very little exposed foreshore in contrast to Lake Fasda, suggesting the lake was better withstanding the dehydrating conditions. The vegetation was generally taller and lusher.
Typha spp. providing a hiding place for reticent Papyrus at Lake Hammra, Wadi Natroun
A partial search only was conducted of the eastern shore marshes due to time constraints of the guide. This lake has the potential to support Papyrus still, and there appeared no immediately obvious reason for its absence, if the Umm Risha population is genuinely ancient, as Professor El-Hadidi believes. Further searches should be conducted around this lake.
Both lakes smelled of sulphur dioxide (rotten eggs) and underfoot the mud was thick and cloying and of uneven depth so that the papyrus hunter was frequently thrown off balance, making the search, particularly in the extreme heat, unpleasant and energy sapping.
Of note, foliage of Typha spp. was seen being dried in streets adjacent to the Lake, suggesting the
Typha leaves drying, near Lake Hammra, Wadi Natroun, Egypt
A fruitless day, two Lakes were found, some interesting habitat turned up, but tragically no Papyrus and the Type locality not visited.
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