The Karakum Desert. What is the first image that comes to mind when one hears this name? Endless sands stretching to the horizon, where life – if it exists at all – seems to flow slowly and almost imperceptibly. This stereotype has long been associated with one of the largest deserts in Central Asia, covering nearly 80 per cent of the territory of Turkmenistan. Yet the fallacy of this perception becomes most evident in spring, which begins here as early as February.
Across most of the desert – excluding the pure dune sands that occupy no more than one twentieth of the Karakum Desert – the land is sometimes already covered with a dense carpet of ephemerals and ephemeroids from the first half of the final winter month. These annual and perennial herbaceous plants have an extremely short vegetation period. Within a short span, desert plants grow fast, completing their entire life cycle up to the maturation of fruits or seeds. Sand sedge, acacia (ammodendron), and astragalus infuse the air with subtle aromas. Pale lilac clusters of astragalus are visible from afar, while the flowering sand acacia, with its deep blue blossoms, emits a pleasant scent. Particularly striking in spring is the blooming saxaul, enveloped in the spicy aromas of the Karakum ephemerals.
As a rule, among the very first flowers to appear on the slopes of the Karakum hills – usually in early February – are merendera blossoms. This primrose, a desert “snowdrop,” is known as sermenek among the Turkmen people. The flowering period of merendera lasts no more than twenty days. The white or pale pink flowers of Merendera robusta, as botanists identify the species, emit a subtle yet distinctly pleasant fragrance.
If you are lucky to find a small scorzonera hidden in the grass, resembling a garden daisy, it may unexpectedly reward you with a strong vanilla scent. Owing to the harsh desert conditions, most ephemerals and ephemeroids are miniature plants with their stems rarely exceeding ten centimetres in height.
Yellowish spikes of sedge soon appear on the slopes of the Karakum dunes. In lowlands, star tipped shoots of goose onion emerge from the ground, alongside pale flowers of streptoloma or streptoloma desertorum, distinguished by their characteristically twisted fruits.
At this time of year, patches of whitish spots can be seen in some places across the desert floor, as if someone had scattered a handful of white grains or spilled milk. These are the tiny flowers of spring draba, each no larger than a barley grain. Like other Karakum ephemerals, it hastens to bloom and set seed before the onset of the May heat.
Fully formed sedge spikes signal the midpoint of the short Karakum spring. Bright red splashes of peacock poppy weave among the grasses, alongside delicate violet patterns of malcolmia. Rising above this fleeting floral splendour are the towering stems of Turkestan rhubarb, whose rounded leaves may reach a metre in diameter. After the poppies, perennial tulips start to bloom, followed by giant herbaceous plants of Turkmen flora – ferulas and doremmas.
Shrubs are also active in spring in the Karakum Desert. Nearly all of them bloom during this period, adding rich strokes to the overall “oil painting” of the awakening desert. The flowers of saxaul appear quite striking though less conspicuous as they hide deep within the shoots. From a distance, saxaul even resembles a weeping willow or a small fruit tree mysteriously rising from the sands. Toward the end of spring, yet another intoxicating scent joins the bouquet of Karakum aromas – the flowering of kandym, a member of the buckwheat family.
In March, the Karakum Desert receives most of its annual precipitation – almost a quarter of the yearly total. Yet desert spring is short and fleeting, and soon, in May, scorching summer takes hold. Only the dry, hot wind remains, carrying the hastily ripened fruits and seeds of plants across the dunes.
Like the flora, the animal world of the Karakum Desert also awakens with the arrival of spring, refuting the persistent myth of a lifeless wasteland. The fauna includes goitered gazelles, foxes and wolves, sand cats and steppe lynxes – caracals – various rodents, many species of birds, lizards, snakes, as well as countless insects and arachnids: phalanges, scorpions, ants, termites, mites and beetles of many kinds.
Goitered gazelles, like other desert ungulates, take full advantage of the spring abundance of succulent greenery, regaining weight after winter. Fresh grass allows them to reduce their need for frequent watering. They remain in herds on compact desert soils and only by May begin to move closer to water sources.
Caracals, listed in the Red Book of Turkmenistan, begin hunting not only at night but also during the day as the weather warms. They prey on rodents, hares, birds and even young gazelles. This is hardly surprising, given that this member of the feline family can leap up to four and a half metres in length.
The tolai hare, native to the Karakum Desert, does not hibernate and becomes especially active from late February. It readily feeds on young plants and begins breeding. Hares prefer saxaul thickets, where they hide from predators. They never dig burrows, instead concealing their leverets in small depressions beneath shrubs. In Turkmenistan, the population of tolai hares depends heavily on weather conditions and may fluctuate significantly throughout the year, declining sharply during harsh winters when food is scarce.
Unlike hares, desert rodents – such as thin toed ground squirrels, gerbils and jerboas – hibernate during winter. Awakening in spring, they feed continuously on fresh vegetation, dig deep burrows and reproduce. During this period, rodents become the primary prey for predators, including snakes and birds. Ground squirrels are active during the day, while jerboas are nocturnal, moving across the desert on their hind legs at considerable speed.
Spring also turns the Karakum Desert into a nesting and migration site for numerous bird species: saxaul jay, eagle owl, desert raven, long legged buzzard, desert sparrow, grey lark, wheatear, houbara bustard and others. Among the most striking birds of prey are the steppe eagle and the rare, state protected saker falcon, both of which return to the Karakum after wintering elsewhere.
For steppe eagles, whose wingspan reaches up to two metres, March and April mark the active breeding season. These impressive birds occupy open desert areas, building nests on the ground or in shrubs. Their diet consists mainly of small rodents, as well as lizards and insects.
The saker falcon, also listed in the Red Book of Turkmenistan, nests from March to May on sandy and saline areas of the Karakum Desert, sometimes using abandoned nests of other birds. In spring, it is particularly active, raising its offshoot and hunting gerbils, ground squirrels and small birds.
With the onset of warmth – around late March, when the heat becomes strong enough – numerous Karakum lizards come out of hibernation. At this time, they feed on insects and are often seen in open areas, free of vegetation. The most well known among them are the desert monitor lizard, the toad headed agama and the steppe agama. The “crocodile of the desert,” as the grey monitor lizard is sometimes called, is a fast daytime predator that may remain in hibernation until April. Growing up to one and a half or even two metres in length, these large reptiles hunt gerbils, snakes (including cobras), scorpions and other lizards. They often occupy somebody else’s burrows and, when threatened, attempt to intimidate enemies by hissing, inflating their bodies and even chasing intruders at speeds of up to 20 kilometres per hour.
The toad headed agama, which feeds on insects and spiders, enters its mating season at the end of May, when females lay eggs. The steppe agama, an active daytime lizard, ends its winter dormancy in February–March. During this period, male agamas develop bright breeding coloration – most strikingly the blue coloured throat – occupy saxaul shrubs, feed on beetles and ants, and retreat into burrows only at night.
Another fascinating representative of the Karakum fauna is the steppe tortoise, which comes out of winter hibernation early, already in March, when the desert air only begins to warm. From March to April, tortoises are most active, benefiting from abundant vegetation and moderate temperatures. They feed intensively, mate and lay eggs, with sand sedge often forming the basis of their diet. In spring, one may even witness mating battles between male tortoises, as rivals ram each other with their shells, bite and push competitors away from their chosen mate. With the arrival of May heat, steppe tortoises once again bury themselves in the sand and enter hibernation – this time a summer one.
Taking advantage of the brief flowering period of ephemerals and ephemeroids, the insect world of the desert also comes to life. Attracted by the strong aromas of blooming plants, winged insects fill the air, while the warming atmosphere becomes a catalyst for the reproduction of black widows, phalanges, tarantulas and scorpions. Needless to say that the spring surge of insects and arachnids greatly expands the food base for birds and certain lizard species.
Even the most vivid written description cannot fully convey the feeling experienced by a traveller encountering the flowering desert for the first time in March or April. Yet such words themselves may serve as an invitation to leave the familiar urban environment and venture into nature. And when it comes to the Karakum Desert, its beauty should be discovered in spring – at the moment of the awakening of the great desert.