Taxon name
Andrachne telephioides
L.
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Andrachne telephioides
L.
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
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
Within the UAE, this species is considered widespread but rare in the Hajar Mountains and the Ru'us al-Jibal, but this requires confirmation as a result of actual and potential confusion with the more common A. aspera. There are no detailed data on population size or trend. Whilst it was assessed as Least Concern according to the draft UAE Red Data Book (MEW 2010), we consider it to be Data Deficient, with further survey work required to confirm its distribution and population size.
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 was considered widespread throughout the Hajar Mountains in the UAE (Jongbloed et al. 2003), however this wide distribution may be exaggerated, resulting from confusion with A. aspera. The species has been recorded from the Ru'us al-Jibal (Feulner 2011) and M. Tsaliki (pers. comm. 2019) records the species from several localities (Huwaylat, Jebal Sahab (olive wadi, Wadi Sfai), Wadi Maidaq and Wadi Naqab) within R'as al Khaimah Emirate from 210 to 983 m asl. However, all records from the Wadi Wurayah National Park refer to A. aspera, which is more common in the Hajar Mountains than A. telephioides (Feulner 2016). G.R. Feulner (pers. comm. 2019) has rarely recorded A. telephioides with certainty. Globally, the native range of this species spans from Cape Verde across the Mediterranean and northeast tropical Africa to northwest India (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 perennial herb species is known to grow in silt between rocks in wadis and on hillsides and hill tops (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Mahmoud et al. 2018, M. Tsaliki pers. comm. 2019). It has a woody base, can reach up to 0.3 m in height, has smooth oval leaves, smooth capsular fruit and cream coloured flowers which can be seen between February and May (Jongbloed et al. 2003).
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.
