Taxon name
Avena barbata
Pott ex Link
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Avena barbata
Pott ex Link
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Species authority
Pott ex Link
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Avena barbata Link is a secondary wild relative of oats, Avena sativa L. and A. byzantina K. Koch. (A. Katsiotis pers. comm. 2010). Five subspecies are native to Europe: A. barbata Link subsp. barbata, A. barbata subsp. castellana Romero Zarco, A. barbata subsp. hirtula (Lag.) Tab. Morais, A. barbata subsp. lusitanica (Tab. Morais) Romero Zarco and A. barbata subsp. wiestii (Steud.) Mansf.<span style=""background-color: yellow;""> (Valdés and Scholz; with contributions from Raab-Straube and Parolly 2009).<span style=""background-color: yellow;""><span style=""background-color: yellow;""><span style=""background-color: yellow;"">Romero Zarco (pers. comm. 2015) considers Avena saxatilis to be valid as a subspecies of Avena barbata (as Avena barbata subsp. castellana Romero Zarco), a situation that Euro+Med (2015, citing Valdés and Scholz 2009) agree with. Similarly, Loskutov and Rines (2011) consider A. saxatilis to be a form of Avena barbata. However, The Plant List (2015) considers Avena saxatilis to be a valid taxon).
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
United Arab Emirates (the)
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
United Arab Emirates (the)
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Data Deficient
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This species is known from one site within the Ru'us al-Jibal. The species occurs at high elevations and are relatively undisturbed sites, which this plant appears to prefer. In addition, it is generally described as rare and detailed distribution data is lacking for this species. It would benefit from further research into its tolerance of threats, including disturbance, in addition to confirming its overall distribution in the UAE to be able to accurately assess it. For now, it is assessed as Data Deficient and further research is needed for this species.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
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.
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
Not assigned
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
Avena barbata occurs in the Ru'us al-Jibal mountains in the north of the UAE (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2011). Within this area, it has been recorded from one confirmed locality in the UAE at 900 m elevation, above bedrock on a ridge. A second record at 1,500 m elevation (Feulner 2011) may not be within the UAE. The origin and distribution of the species in the UAE requires confirmation; it may be native or be present here as a result of natural introduction, or may have been introduced alongside agriculture. Globally, this species occurs in northern, middle, east, south-east and south-west Europe, temperate Asia, Macaronesia, northern Africa and the Indian Subcontinent, and is naturalized in the Azores, Australia and the Americas (Duarte et al. 2011, Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
Avena barbata is a tall and thin grass (Jongbloed et al. 2003) known to occur in one site in the Ru'us al-Jibal in the UAE. Globally, Avena barbata has been reported to be very successful in undisturbed sites, preferring shallow stony hillsides, open parkland, pastures and cultivated land. It does not favour shrubby or forested sites (Duarte et al. 2011). In the UAE, it was found in silt amongst rock, on bedrock on ridge, c. 0.2 km above cultivation (Feulner 2011, G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019). This species is a crop wild relative of the oat crop, Avena sativa (Kameswara Rao 2013).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
There is no information available.
Publication
Allen, D.J., Westrip, J.R.S., Puttick, A., Harding, K.A., Hilton-Taylor, C. and Ali, H. 2021. UAE National Red List of Vascular Plants. Technical Report. Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, United Arab Emirates, Dubai.
