Sideroxylon spinosum

Sideroxylon spinosum
	Near Tafraout, Morocco
Conservation status
	; Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Sapotaceae
Subfamily:	Sapotoideae
Genus:	Sideroxylon
Species:	S. spinosum
Binomial name
	Sideroxylon spinosum; L. (1753)
	Native range of A. spinosa
Synonyms
	Argania sideroxylon Roem. & Schult (1819), nom. superfl.; Argania spinosa (L.) Skeels (1911); Argania spinosa var. apiculata Maire (1929); Argania spinosa var. mutica Maire (1929); Elaeodendron argan Retz. (1791); Rhamnus sicula L. (1768); Sideroxylon argan (Retz.) Baill. (1890); Verlangia argan (Retz.) Neck. ex Raf. (1838);

Sideroxylon spinosum, known as argan (Tashelhit: ⴰⵔⴳⴰⵏ, romanized: argan), synonym Argania spinosa, is a species of flowering plant. It is a tree native to the calcareous semi-desert Sous valley and to the Chiadma and Haha regions of Morocco, as well as some parts of Tindouf Province in southwestern Algeria, and also to Mauritania and Western Sahara. Argan trees grow to 8–10 m (26–33 ft) high and live up to approximately 200 years. They are thorny, with gnarled trunks and wide spreading crown. The crown has a circumference of up to 70 m (230 ft) and the branches may lean towards the ground.