Argan

A thorny, drought-tolerant tree (Argania spinosa) endemic to a limited region of southwestern Morocco, where it has been cultivated and harvested for centuries and is central to the local Berber agricultural economy. Its hard-shelled fruit contains a kernel pressed for argan oil, traditionally extracted through a labor-intensive process historically involving goats that climb the trees to browse the fruit before the pits are recovered and cracked by hand. Argan oil is used locally in cooking and has become a valuable export commodity in cosmetics, and the tree's growing region was recognized by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve in acknowledgment of the ecosystem it anchors against desertification.