Taxon name
Scorzonera tortuosissima
Boiss.
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Scorzonera tortuosissima
Boiss.
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Both species, S. koelpinioides and S. tortuosissima, have the same chromosome number, 2n = 28 (32) (M. Naas pers. comm.).
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
Despite appearing to have a relatively restricted distribution within the UAE, this is based on unconfirmed records. More information is needed on this species' distribution within the UAE, in addition to the threats it faces and its population size and trends, before its extinction risk can be accurately assessed. Therefore, it is currently considered to be 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
In the UAE, this species is reported from a single locality in the upper parts of Jebel Hafeet (Jongbloed et al. 2003). The draft Red Data Book (MEW 2010) considered the record to be unconfirmed. Whilst detailed locality data for Jebel Hafeet are not available, the extent of occurrence and area of occupancy are both likely to be less than 8 km<sup>2</sup>. Although, in general, records of this species within the UAE appear to be unconfirmed (G. Brown pers. comm. 2019). G. Brown, S. Sakkir and S. Ghazanfar state that they have not seen this species within the UAE or in Oman (pers. comm. 2019). The global distribution requires confirmation, but the species appears to be restricted to the West Asia region, from the Sinai and southern Israel to the Arabian Peninsula and east to Afghanistan (Kilian et al. 2019), although Plants of the World Online (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019) does not cite occurrence in the UAE.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
In the UAE, the species is found on rocky slopes (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It is a desert perennial sub-shrub that grows to 0.1 m in height (Jongbloed et al. 2003).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Feral goat grazing, invasive plant species, and tourism are likely to impact the habitat of this species on Jebel Hafeet (Sakkir et al. 2018, Bayoumi 2019).
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.
