Taxon name
Plantago boissieri
Hausskn. & Bornm.
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Plantago boissieri
Hausskn. & Bornm.
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Species authority
Hausskn. & Bornm.
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 generally widespread within sandy areas inland from the Arabian Gulf Coast of the UAE. Within these areas, it is locally common and is abundant, perhaps even a dominant species, in some areas. As such, 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, it is described as occurring along the Arabian Gulf coastline (Brown et al. 2007). Jongbloed et al. (2003) shows a wide distribution from gravel plains west of the Hajar Mountains, south and west into Dubai Emirate. Globally, the native range of this species encompasses temperate Asia and the Arabian Peninsula (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 is known to grow within saline and coastal sand dunes in the UAE (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Karim and Dakheel 2006, Brown et al. 2007, Mahmoud et al. 2018), although it has also been described as a weed in old fields in Oman (Western 1991). It can reach up to 0.2 m in height, has linear to lanceolate shaped leaves with fine silky hairs, in addition to long cylindrical spikes with very small white-green flowers which can be seen between January and April (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Karim and Dakheel 2006). It is a moderately salt-tolerant species (Karim and Dakheel 2006) and has been described as one of the most important contributors to biomass in dune and stabilised sand environments (Ghazanfar and Fisher 1998).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Grazing, urban development, and road construction are likely to 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.
