Taxon name
Desmidorchis arabica
(N.E.Br.) Meve & Liede
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Desmidorchis arabica
(N.E.Br.) Meve & Liede
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Species authority
(N.E.Br.) Meve & Liede
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 considered to be rare, however it is greatly under-recorded and can be found to be widespread within its range of the Hajar Mountains and the Ru'us al-Jibal, although scattered (G.R. Feulner, in litt, MEW 2010). As a result, 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
This species occurs among rocks in the Hajar Mountains including the Wadi Wurayah National Park (Feulner 2016) and the Ru'us al-Jibal (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2011, Gairola et al. 2017). It is considered to be widespread within this area (Feulner 2011). Typically, this species can be encountered at moderate elevations (Feulner 2011). Globally, this species occurs on the Arabian Peninsula (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species is a perennial succulent that grows up to 100 cm (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It produces purple flowers between February and May and grows among rocks at medium to higher elevations (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2014). This species is a food plant of Danaus chrysippus, the Plain Tiger butterfly (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It has previously been described as a 'cactus-like milkweed' (Feulner 2011).
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.
