Taxon name
Crotalaria aegyptiaca
Benth.
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Crotalaria aegyptiaca
Benth.
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
This species occurs in the Wadi Wurayah National Park and across the northeast of the UAE. It is considered to be common and widespread within the UAE and, although it may be threatened by grazing, it is unclear what effect this currently has on the species. Therefore, this species 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
Crotalaria aegyptiaca is known to occur throughout the majority of north-east UAE, including at Jebel Hafeet (Stuart and Stuart 1998). It appears to prefer lower elevations (Feulner 2011). Globally, this species ranges from Egypt to India and northern Somalia (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 perennial shrub species is found growing in gravel plains and sand dunes (El Aqamy 2004, Fawzi and Ksiksi 2012, Mahmoud et al. 2018). Within the Wadi Wurayah National Park, it is generally found growing on gentle wadi banks (Feulner 2016). The plant grows to between 90-100 cm in height and flowers between February and April (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Karim and Dakheel 2006). It is a moderately salt-tolerant species (Karim and Dakheel 2006). Crotalaria aegyptiaca is a crop wild relative of sunhemp, Crotalaria juncea (Kameswara Rao 2010).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Camels are able to graze on this species, meaning that this could pose a threat within this species' distribution (Karim and Dakheel 2006). However, it is not known to what extent this threat may impact the 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.
