Taxon name
Tragus racemosus
(L.) All.
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Tragus racemosus
(L.) All.
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Species authority
(L.) All.
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 relatively widespread in northern parts of the UAE. Whilst subpopulations will have undergone a significant decline as a result of coastal development, it is thought that the species still qualifies 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 occurs along the northern Arabian Gulf coast (Jongbloed et al. 2003), with more recent records from Wadi Al Ain (Mousa and Fawzi 2009) and Jebel Hafeet (Sakkir and Brown 2014). Herbarium records include specimens from <a href=""http://data.rbge.org.uk/herb/E00358104"">Al Dhayd</a> (RBGE Edinburgh). Al Mehairbi et al. (2019) show a continuous distribution from the Gulf coast, along the foothills of the Hajar Mountains, and south and east to Al Ain. Globally, this species occurs across most of Africa, southern Europe, through the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East, to Central and West Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018). It has been introduced to the Americas (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018) and to large parts of Europe (DAISIE 2019).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This is an annual grass that grows up to 0.3 m tall, flowers from February to April, and grows in plantations, gardens and along roadsides (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It has also been described as growing in open sandy or gravelly conditions and in cultivations (MEW 2010, Mahmoud et al. 2018).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Grazing by livestock may impact the species in parts of its range, and impacts from coastal development are likely to have been significant.
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.
