Taxon name
Astragalus annularis
Forssk.
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Astragalus annularis
Forssk.
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Species authority
Forssk.
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 apparently found both in coastal regions in the UAE and inland. Within its range, it is considered to be locally common. However, it is often easily confused with closely related species and, therefore, the distribution of this species within the UAE requires confirmation before it can confidently be assessed. As a result, it is currently Data Deficient.
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 occurs along the Arabian Gulf coastline to the northwest of the country (Brown et al. 2007) and the east coast, as well as inland at Jebel Hafeet (Jongbloed et al. 2003). However, these records need to be confirmed as the species is easily confused with other similar species, such as Astragalus hamosus and Astragalus biababensis. The native range of this species spans from Algeria to Lebanon, the Arabian Peninsula and on to Iran (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 can grow up to 20 cm in height (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Norton et al. 2009, El-Keblawy and Abdelfatah 2014). It has divided leaves, pink clustered flowers between February and May, in addition to curved, mottled seed pods (Jongbloed et al. 2003). Astragalus annularis grows within sand both along the coast and further inland (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It is a crop wild relative of Astragalus species, including cicer milkvetch (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.
