Taxon name
Eremobium aegyptiacum
(Spreng.) Asch. ex Boiss.
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Eremobium aegyptiacum
(Spreng.) Asch. ex Boiss.
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Species authority
(Spreng.) Asch. ex Boiss.
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 generally considered to be widespread and common throughout the UAE. Although it may be threatened, the impact of these potential threats on the species has not yet been quantified. 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
Within the UAE, this species is widespread throughout sand desert (Jongbloed et al. 2003). Globally, the native range of this species spans from the eastern Mediterranean to the Arabian Peninsula (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 species is an annual herb, which can grow up to 35 cm in height (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Brown et al. 2007, Mahmoud et al. 2018). White flowers are produced between February and April, in addition to minute red seeds (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It is more abundant following rain and generally grows within sandy plains and on sand dunes (Ghazanfar and Fisher 1998, Brown et al. 2007, Mahmoud et al. 2018). It is considered to be an important contributor to biomass to these dune and stabilised sand environments (Ghazanfar and Fisher 1998).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
This species is suggested to be at threat from over-collection and habitat loss (Heneidy et al. 2018). Although the exact reason behind the habitat loss hasn't been described in detail, it may well take the form of human expansion and development of residential or tourism areas
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.
