Taxon name
Lactuca orientalis
(Boiss.) Boiss.
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Lactuca orientalis
(Boiss.) Boiss.
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Species authority
(Boiss.) Boiss.
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
Least Concern
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
Although the species is uncommon, it is not thought to be impacted by any significant threats and is assessed as Least Concern.
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
In the UAE, this species has been recorded from the Ru'us al-Jibal (Feulner 2011). It is typically recorded from 400 m to 1,900 m altitude within this area (Feulner 2011). D. Aplin (pers. comm. 2019) made the first record of this species outside of the Musandam Peninsula, extending the southern-most extent of the distribution to a steep shaded wadi at 570 m asl, a kilometre north of Al Khulaibiah in Fujairah. Globally, the native range of this species encompasses Egypt, the eastern Mediterranean and the Arabian Peninsula through to western Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species is a perennial sub-shrub with mounded habit to 0.6 m. Its inflorescence forms a wire-netting-like structure around the plant, while its leaves are seasonally deciduous growing from rocky areas along steep wadi that would receive brief but significant, fast-flowing water during rains. It is often associated with Forsskaolea viridis. The plant has atypical flowers for an Asteraceae, with four yellow ray flowers but no disc flowers (D. Aplin pers. comm. 2019). This dwarf shrub can be found growing in silty substrates within gravel wadis and plains in addition to the margins of nearby fields (Feulner 2011). Lactuca orientalis is a crop wild relative of lettuce, Lactuca sativa (Kameswara Rao 2013).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
There are no known widespread threats. There are no immediate threats to the population at Al Khulaibiah, although at the entrance to the wadi (c.400 m away), there is evidence of recent bulldozing of silt and sand. However, the subpopulation resides sufficiently high enough for this not to be a threat (D. Aplin pers. comm. 2019).
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.
