Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
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
Despite being potentially threatened by grazing and having multiple uses, this plant is widespread throughout the majority of the UAE and is common across the country. It is able to persist in disturbed environments and can exist up to 1600 m in altitude. It is therefore 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
Within the UAE, this species is particularly widespread and can be found throughout much of the country (Jongbloed et al. 2003). In the Ru'us al-Jibal, it has been recorded from altitudes up to 1,600 m (Feulner 2011). Globally, the native range of this species spans from Macaronesia, the Mediterranean and to Pakistan and the Sahara, but it has been very widely introduced elsewhere (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 annual herb species grows within disturbed soil environments, in cultivated areas, along roadsides and in waste salty places (Karim and Dakheel 2006, Mahmoud et al. 2018). This plant can reach up to 0.8 m in height and has round to kidney shaped, lobed leaves in addition to mericarp fruit (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It produces white to pink flowers, with notched petals, which can be seen between February and May (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Karim and Dakheel 2006). Malva parviflora is considered to be moderately salt-tolerant and is known to be grazed (Karim and Dakheel 2006).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Grazing by goats may threaten this species in parts of its range (Karim and Dakheel 2006, Shahid 2017).
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.
