Taxon name
Hyparrhenia hirta
(L.) Stapf
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Hyparrhenia hirta
(L.) Stapf
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Species authority
(L.) Stapf
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 both along the Arabian Gulf coast and in the Hajar Mountain range. It can occur up to high elevations and makes use of both sand and rocky habitats. In addition, it is considered to be a locally common plant. Therefore, 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
These plants are widespread along the Arabian Gulf coast as well as in the Hajar Mountains (Jongbloed et al. 2003). Additionally, it occurs in Ru'us al-Jibal and at Jebel Hafeet (Feulner 2011, Sakkir and Brown 2014). This species has been recorded at elevations of up to around 1,650 m (Feulner 2011). Outside the Arabian Peninsula, it is native to Africa and from the Mediterranean to Pakistan (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 plant species is a perennial grass, with stems that reach up to 100 cm in height, which also forms tussocks (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Norton et al. 2009). It has narrowly linear leaves, which are rolled or folded, in addition to inflorescence spikes which flower between March and May (Jongbloed et al. 2003). The typical habitat for this species is sand and silt between rocks, in addition to wadis and wadi banks (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2011). It has been described as a drought-resistant species (Feulner 2011).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
This species has been known to be grazed by native species such as gazelle and ibex, however it is not known whether this poses a threat to Hyparrhenia hirta (Ghazanfar and Fisher 1998).
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.
