Valerianella szovitsiana | UAE National Red List of Vascular Plants

Taxa
Valerianella szovitsiana | Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
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
Taxonomic Notes
Christenhusz et al. (2018) placed this species in genus Valeriana (as Valeriana szovitsiana (Fisch. & C.A.Mey.) Christenh. & Byng. Whilst accepted by Plants of the World online (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019), we retain the species in Valerianella pending wider review.
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
The presence of this species in the UAE is not yet confirmed, although presence in parts of the Ru'us al-Jibal close to Oman is possible as suitable habitat occurs at similar elevations (G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019), and S. Ghazanfar (pers. comm. 2019) reports that there is a specimen at held at RBG Kew from the UAE. Feulner (2011) recorded the species from a site in the Ru'us al-Jibal of Oman (Awshaq basin and As-Sayh/As-Saye plain) to the northeast of the Sahasa plain, on slopes beside the open upper reaches of a wadi below Jebel Harim and Ra's Mintera (G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019). Other records found from the area are: (1) Patzelt et al. (2014; rocky limestone plateau; 1,450 m, northern Oman: Musandam, Jebel Harim, Sahil Al Sahosa (Sahasa plain)), and (2) <a href=""http://data.rbge.org.uk/herb/E00903483"">RBGE Herbarium</a> (coll. A. Patzelt, 2014, 1,433 m, silty area on Sahasa plateau, Jebel Harim area). The global range of this species is from Egypt (Sinai), through the Arabian Peninsula (although not recorded for the UAE), to Iran and Pakistan and north to Central Asia (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
The altitude of the unconfirmed Kew record from the UAE is not known. In Oman, this small annual species has been found in the Ru'us al-Jibal from silty and rocky areas of a high-elevation plateau (Patzelt et al. 2014) and the open upper reaches of a wadi, on a gentle, stony slope among other annuals (Feulner 2011, G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Not possible
Assessed status
Asessment status in full
Data Deficient
Assessment status abreviation
DD
Assessment rationale/justification
The species occurs in the Ru'us al Jibal in Oman close to the border with the UAE, and is reported to be known from a collection (RBG Kew) from the UAE. However, there is no information available on population size and trend in the UAE, and confirmation of presence in the country requires confirmation, and so it is currently considered Data Deficient for the UAE National Red List.
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
It is not known whether the species is edible, but pressure from grazing goats exists in the areas concerned (both the known localities in the Ru'us al-Jibal of Oman and the potential habitat in adjacent parts of the UAE), so grazing could be a factor limiting current records (G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019). Global climate change, if it results in decreasing rainfall patterns and/or higher temperatures, could also impact the species.
Conservation Measures

Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:

Scientific Name Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Valerianella szovitsiana Plantae Tracheophyta Magnoliopsida Dipsacales Caprifoliaceae Valerianella