Melhania muricata | UAE National Red List of Vascular Plants

Taxa
Melhania muricata | Balf.f.
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
This species is restricted to the Olive Highlands in the UAE. It is generally found at high elevations within this area, including the summit ridge of Jebel Qitab which is c.1,000 m (Feulner 2014, G.R. Feulner in lit. MEW 2010), with an additional locality was recently found in the upper parts of Wadi Sahm (D. Aplin pers. comm. 2019). It is not thought to occur elsewhere in the UAE (Feulner 2014). The estimated EOO for this species is approximately 330 km<sup>2 </sup>and the maximum estimate for AOO of this species is 312 km<sup>2</sup>. Globally, this species is native to Kenya, Socotra and the Arabian Peninsula (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).
Habitats and Ecology
Ecological system type
Terrestrial system
No
Freshwater system
No
Marine system
No
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
It is a perennial plant with a woody base and can reach up to 0.3 m in height (Jongbloed et al. 2003). The leaves are lance-shaped with toothed edges (Jongbloed et al. 2003). Yellow flowers can be seen between February and April (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It generally grows on hillsides (Jongbloed et al. 2003). Species from the Melhania genus are known to be food plants for the larval stage of the Zebra Grizzled Skipper, Spialia zebra (Feulner 2007).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Assessed status
Asessment status in full
Endangered
Assessment status abreviation
EN
Assessment status criteria
D
Assessment rationale/justification
This species occurs within a specific, restricted area of the UAE and is considered to have a small overall population of around 250 individuals. The species is also generally described as rare which suggests that, despite there currently being no major known threats, if a major threat was to arise, it could decimate this small population rapidly. As such, it is cautiously assessed as Endangered according to its small population size and apparent rarity. There is no rescue effect due to no nearby subpopulations of this species and, therefore, no regional adjustment is required.
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
There is no evidence that the species is browsed.
Conservation Measures

Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:

Further information
History
The situation for this species in 1996 is likely to be similar to the current situation, due to its restricted distribution, rarity and generally small population size.
Scientific Name Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Melhania muricata Plantae Tracheophyta Magnoliopsida Malvales Malvaceae Melhania