Taxon name
Tamarix nilotica
(Ehrenb.) Bunge
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Tamarix nilotica
(Ehrenb.) Bunge
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Species authority
(Ehrenb.) Bunge
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
This species is widespread at lower altitudes in the UAE. Although data are lacking on the population size and trend, the species is assessed as Least Concern as it is thought unlikely that it will approach the thresholds for a threatened category.
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
Brown and Sakkir (2004) cite the species from inland waters of Abu Dhabi Emirate. The draft Red Data Book for UAE plants (MEW 2010) considered this species as a junior synonym of T. arabica, common along the Gulf coast and adjacent to salt flats in the sandy deserts in the south of the Emirates. Jongbloed et al. (2003) considered T. nilotica the valid name with T. arabica a synonym, and gave a distribution along the Arabian Gulf coastline, as well as in sandy desert areas with near-surface brackish water. The species is a Saharo-Sindian element. It occurs from the eastern Mediterranean Greece (especially Crete), Lebanon, Palestine and Israel (Villar et al. 2014), south to Kenya in Africa, and east through the Arabian Peninsula (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019). The species has been very widely introduced through cultivation.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
Tamarix nilotica is found in brackish and saline sands and sabkha (Jongbloed et al. 2003).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Impacts from coastal development are likely to have been significant for this species.
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.
