Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
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
Records of this species within the UAE, specifically in the Ru'us al-Jibal and Wadi Wurayah National Park, are uncertain, in large part due to the difficulty of distinguishing it from other Galium species such as G. aparine and G. ceratopodium, also recorded form the UAE. As a result, it is assessed as Data Deficient, and confirmation of the presence and distribution of the species in the country is required.
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
Within the UAE, it has been recorded from the Ru'us al-Jibal (Jongbloed et al. 2003), although this occurrence is now considered uncertain and may refer to one or more other Galium species (Feulner 2011, 2016) and its presence in the country requires confirmation. The species has not been confirmed from Oman, with a record from there requiring confirmation (S. Ghazanfar pers. comm. 2019). Globally, the native range of this species spans across Europe, to the Arabian Peninsula and to the western Himalayas (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Not possible
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This annual herb species can grow up to 40 cm in height and is often observed as climbing on other surrounding vegetation (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Norton et al. 2009). The lance-shaped leaves are arranged in whorls and the edges are covered in small spines (Jongbloed et al. 2003). The fruit is round and hairy while the flowers are small and white and can be seen between February and April (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It is generally found growing within wadis and fields, in addition to sheltered locations on hillsides (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.
