Salvadora persicaL.

Toothbrush treemustard treetoothbrush tree

WFO wfo-0000492914 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Salvadora persica, photographed by Robert Taylor
fig. a Robert Taylor, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-05-03 / obs. 126834639
Salvadora persica, photographed by Arabella Willing
fig. b Arabella Willing, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 111947479
Salvadora persica, photographed by S.MORE
fig. c S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 108793802
Salvadora persica, photographed by S.MORE
fig. d S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 108486641
Salvadora persica, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. e Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 138273524
Salvadora persica, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. f Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 138270973
Salvadora persica, photographed by Mittal Gala
fig. g Mittal Gala, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 53469627
Salvadora persica, photographed by S.MORE
fig. h S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 65386899

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 38 botanical countries

Regions where Salvadora persica is native: Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burkina, Caprivi Strip, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Senegal, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lebanon-Syria, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Yemen, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka AlgeriaAngolaBotswanaBurkinaCaprivi StripChadDjiboutiEgyptEritreaEthiopiaKenyaLibyaMalawiMaliMauritaniaMoroccoMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesSenegalSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaUgandaZambiaZimbabweLebanon-SyriaOmanPalestineSaudi ArabiaSinaiYemenIndiaPakistanSri Lanka
Native distribution of Salvadora persica, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Angola ANG
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Caprivi Strip CPV
Chad CHA
Djibouti DJI
Egypt EGY
Eritrea ERI
Ethiopia ETH
Kenya KEN
Libya LBY
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Morocco MOR
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Senegal SEN
Socotra SOC
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Lebanon-Syria LBS ASIA-TEMPERATE
Oman OMA
Palestine PAL
Saudi Arabia SAU
Sinai SIN
Yemen YEM
India IND ASIA-TROPICAL
Pakistan PAK
Sri Lanka SRL

Not drawn on the map: Socotra. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 17 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Cissus arborea Forssk.
  • Embelia grossularia Retz.
  • Galenia asiatica Burm.f.
  • Lauridia multiflora Engl.
  • Pella ribesioides Gaertn.
  • Rivina paniculata L.
  • Salvadora biflora Lour.
  • Salvadora capitulata Lour.
  • Salvadora crassinervia Hochst. ex T.Anderson
  • Salvadora cyclophylla Chiov.
  • Salvadora indica Wight
  • Salvadora koenigii Arn.
  • Salvadora paniculata Zucc.
  • Salvadora persica var. indica (Wight) T.A.Rao & Chakraborti
  • Salvadora villosa Maire
  • Salvadora wightiana Planch. ex Thwaites
  • Salvadora wightii Arn.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.