Desmostachya bipinnata | UAE National Red List of Vascular Plants

Taxa
Desmostachya bipinnata | (L.) Stapf
Publication
UAE National Red List of Vascular Plants
Location
Countries in Assessment
United Arab Emirates
Country ISO code(s)
ARE
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Off
Scope (Assessment)
National
Taxon
Taxonomic Group
Plants
Taxonomic Group Level 2
Flowering Plants
Assessed taxon level
Species
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
Within the UAE, this species has been recorded from a small number of localities. A.R. Western collected the species from Kalba oasis in 1985 from c.3 km inland (Jongbloed et al. 2003, <a href=""http://data.rbge.org.uk/herb/E00358122"">UAE Herbarium specimen</a>), however, the Kalba area was searched for this species over the period 2007-2009 without success according to Shahid and Rao (2017). G.R. Feulner (pers. comm. 2019) has found the species c.10 km north of Kalba. Shahid and Rao (2017) found a new locality for this species 200 m from the Gulf coast near Oud Al Owaid in Umm al-Quwain Emirate (although Shahid and Rao (2017) refer to the site being in Ra's Al Khaimah Emirate), however when this site was revisited in 2013, it was found to have been cleared for development, and the species was not refound (Shahid and Rao 2017). Al Meharibi et al. (2019) consider the species to be restricted to Kalba. G.R. Feulner (in litt, MEW 2010) reported the species from a tributary of Wadi Shawka (Ra's Al Khaimah) and G.R. Feulner (pers. comm. 2019) reported that the species has been found at other peri-anthropic and wild localities. The Sharjah Seedbank and Herbarium hold a herbarium specimen from Sharjah city (Al Wahda Street, Sharjah), however, this locality is heavily urbanised, and whilst the locality is within an unpaved car parking area, the persistence of the species at this site requires confirmation. The global distribution of this species is across Africa from the Sahara to Somalia and south to Tanzania, the eastern Mediterranean and through the Arabian Peninsula to Southeast Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019). The distribution shown by Fowler (2002) omits parts of the Arabian Peninsula, including Oman, Qatar and the UAE. GRIN (2019) cite only Saudi Arabia for the Arabian Peninsula. G.R. Feulner (in litt, MEW 2010) reported the species from a wadi at the base of Jebel Ghawil in Oman, and in the Arabian Peninsula, while A. Patzelt and S.G. Knees (unpublished Arabian Peninsula Red List assessment) gave the regional distribution as occurring in Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, including Socotra (Miller and Morris 2004, Cope 2007).
Habitats and Ecology
Ecological system type
Terrestrial system
No
Freshwater system
No
Marine system
No
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This is a tall, perennial, robust plant species with thick and scaly rhizomes (Jongbloed et al. 2003). The record from Wadi Shawkah was in association with Nanorrhops ritchieana and a small grove of previously cultivated palms (G.R. Feulner, in litt, MEW 2010). The record from Kalba oasis was from a date palm plantation, ""growing around tree base as weed"" (<a href=""http://data.rbge.org.uk/herb/E00358122"">UAE Herbarium specimen</a>). At Khor Kalba, it was found in abandoned fields and wastelands. Al Meharibi et al. (2019) comment that the species is a weed within agricultural fields and is used to stabilise sand dunes in coastal areas.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Incomplete
Assessed status
Asessment status in full
Data Deficient
Assessment status abreviation
DD
Assessment rationale/justification
The origin of this species in the UAE is uncertain, and the species is considered a highly invasive plant in parts of its global range. Most of the sites in the UAE are in urbanised areas and are threatened by development. In addition, the current population size and trend is not known; it is considered Data Deficient.
About the assessment
Assessment year
2019
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Affliation of assessor(s)/contributors/reviewers listed on assessment
Government
IGO
Assessor affiliation specific
Government|IGO
Criteria system
Criteria system specifics
IUCN v3.1 + Regional Guidelines v4.0
Criteria system used
IUCN
Criteria Citation
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
Endemism
Endemic to region
Not_assigned
Endemism Notes
Is an endemic?: Not_assigned
Conservation
Threats listed in assessment
Urbanisation presents the primary threat to the confirmed localities of this species, with at least two of the four known sites probably lost.
Conservation Measures

Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:

Scientific Name Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Desmostachya bipinnata Plantae Tracheophyta Liliopsida Poales Poaceae Desmostachya