Taxon name
Eragrostis cilianensis
(All.) Jaunchen
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Eragrostis cilianensis
(All.) Jaunchen
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Species authority
(All.) Jaunchen
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Not aquatic.
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 the UAE: occurring along the Arabian Gulf coast and in the Hajar Mountains. In addition, it appears to utilise a range of habitats and is known to occur in at least one protected area within its distribution. Its ability to persist in a range of habitats may well provide some resistance to potential threats. As such, it 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
In the UAE this species is recorded from along the Arabian Gulf coast and in the northern Hajar Mountains, including Jebel Hafeet (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Al Mehairbi et al. 2019). Globally, the native range of this species spans across the Old World (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 grass species grows within sand, in addition to plantation and garden habitats (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Brown et al. 2007, Mahmoud et al. 2018), disturbed areas, farms, roadsides, plantations and gardens (Al Mehairbi et al. 2019). Eragrostis cilianensis was also recorded from a gravel slope and terrace in the Wadi Wurayah National Park (Feulner 2016). It can grow up to 0.4 m in height, has flat, lance-shaped leaves and a pyramid-shaped inflorescence spray which flowers between February and April (Jongbloed et al. 2003). This plant also has an unpleasant smell which lends itself to the common name 'stinkgrass' (Jongbloed et al. 2003).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Grazing by goats may impact this species in parts of its range (Shahid 2017). Within its range along the Arabian Gulf coast, ongoing development could have negatively impacted 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.
