Argan Tree: Morocco’s “Tree of Life”

Drive through southwestern Morocco and you’ll eventually see it: a low, thorny, gnarled tree — sometimes with goats standing improbably in its branches — stretching across the dry plains between the Atlas Mountains and the Atlantic. That’s the argan tree, and it grows wild almost nowhere else on Earth. It’s the source of argan oil, a backbone of the local economy, and one of the reasons UNESCO created its first biosphere reserve in Morocco.

Here’s what the tree actually is, why it only grows in this one part of the world, how the oil is made, and where you can go see it in person.

What Is the Argan Tree?

The argan tree (Argania spinosa) is a slow-growing, thorny evergreen that can live for centuries and survive extreme drought and heat that would kill most other trees. Botanically, it’s a relative of tropical fruit trees rather than anything found elsewhere in North Africa, which is part of why scientists find it so unusual — it’s essentially a survivor from a much older, wetter era of the region’s climate, now uniquely adapted to near-desert conditions. Mature trees typically have twisted, spiny trunks, small oval leaves, and produce a bitter-skinned, plum-sized fruit that contains the hard nut used to make argan oil.

Where Does the Argan Tree Grow?

The argan tree is endemic to southwestern Morocco — meaning it grows wild naturally nowhere else on the planet in any significant quantity. Its native range, often called the Arganeraie, stretches across the Souss Valley between the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas mountains, from around Essaouira in the north down toward Tiznit and Taroudant in the south, with Agadir sitting roughly at its center. According to UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme, the reserve covering this ecosystem spans roughly 2.5 million hectares and was Morocco’s first UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, designated in 1998 specifically to protect the tree and the traditional livelihoods built around it.

Why the Argan Tree Matters So Much to Morocco

The argan tree isn’t just a curiosity — it’s a working part of the regional economy and ecology:

• It holds back the desert. Its root system stabilizes soil and slows desertification along the edge of the Sahara, acting as a natural buffer zone.
• It supports rural livelihoods. Argan oil, considered one of the most expensive edible oils in the world, is the main income source for many families in the Souss region, and its production is largely organized through women’s cooperatives.
• It’s recognized internationally. Beyond the UNESCO Biosphere designation, the Food and Agriculture Organization lists the argan-based agro-sylvo-pastoral system of Aït Souab–Aït Mansour as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System, recognizing centuries-old farming techniques built around the tree.
• It supports biodiversity. The Arganeraie forest provides habitat for numerous plant and animal species adapted to this specific arid ecosystem.

The Famous “Goats in Trees”

One of Morocco’s most photographed sights is goats climbing into the branches of argan trees to eat the fruit — and it’s completely real, not staged for tourists, though in heavily touristed spots along the Marrakech–Essaouira road you will sometimes see goats placed in trees deliberately for photos in exchange for a tip. In genuinely rural areas, though, it’s simply how local goats forage, since they’ve adapted to reach fruit that would otherwise go to waste.

How Argan Oil Is Made

Traditional argan oil production is entirely manual and still largely done by hand in women’s cooperatives:

1. The fruit is collected once it falls naturally from the tree.
2. The outer pulp is removed (traditionally fed to livestock).
3. The hard nut inside is cracked by hand with a stone — a slow, skilled process — to extract the kernels.
4. Kernels for culinary oil are lightly roasted first, giving it a nutty flavor used for dipping bread and drizzling over dishes like amlou.
5. Kernels for cosmetic oil are pressed raw, unroasted, producing a lighter oil used in skincare and hair products.
6. The kernels are pressed (traditionally by hand-turned stone mill, now often mechanically in cooperatives) to extract the oil, which is then filtered and settled.

It takes a large volume of fruit and many hours of labor to produce a small amount of oil, which is part of why authentic argan oil commands a high price — and why buying from a legitimate women’s cooperative rather than a roadside tourist stop matters both for quality and for making sure the money reaches the people actually doing the work.

Where to See Argan Trees in Morocco

If you want to see the tree in its natural habitat rather than just buying the oil, a few areas work well:

• The Marrakech–Essaouira road passes directly through argan forest and several roadside cooperatives, making it an easy stop if you’re already headed to the coast.
• Around Agadir and the Souss Valley, the heart of the Arganeraie, with organized cooperative visits and demonstrations of the traditional pressing process.
• Essaouira’s surrounding countryside, where argan groves meet the Atlantic coastline.

Seeing the tree and visiting a cooperative is a natural stop on a route that already runs through southern or coastal Morocco — if you’re planning a trip through this region, you can book your trip with a private driver-guide who can build in a genuine cooperative visit rather than a tourist-trap stop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the argan tree only found in Morocco? Essentially yes — it grows wild almost exclusively in southwestern Morocco, with a very small additional population in a border region of Algeria. It has been planted experimentally elsewhere, but the natural forest, the Arganeraie, exists only in this part of North Africa.

How long does an argan tree live? Argan trees are extremely long-lived and slow-growing; individual trees are commonly estimated to live for centuries, with some believed to be well over 200 years old.

Why is argan oil so expensive? The entire harvesting and extraction process is labor-intensive and largely done by hand, from cracking each nut individually to pressing the kernels — it takes a large quantity of fruit to produce a relatively small amount of oil.

Is all argan oil the same? No. Culinary argan oil is made from roasted kernels and has a nutty flavor, while cosmetic argan oil is pressed from raw kernels and is lighter and odorless — they’re used for very different purposes and shouldn’t be substituted for each other.

What’s the best way to buy authentic argan oil in Morocco? Buying directly from a women’s cooperative, rather than an unmarked roadside stall, is the most reliable way to get a genuine product and ensure the proceeds go to the people producing it.