Taxon name
Erucaria hispanica
(L.) Druce
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Erucaria hispanica
(L.) Druce
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Species authority
(L.) Druce
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 fairly widespread within the UAE and is certainly considered to be common within its range. It can also persist at a range of altitudes. 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 in the Hajar Mountains and Ru'us al-Jibal (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2011), and also occurs on Jebel Hafeet (RBGE Herbarium; coll. J.N.B. Brown, west side of the mountain, 1983). It has been recorded at altitudes up to 1,350 m (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2011). The global range of this species is the eastern Mediterranean to the Arabian Peninsula to Iran (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 is an annual herb species with much-branched stems that can grow up to 50 cm (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Mahmoud et al. 2018). Its leaves are fleshy and narrowly segmented into alternating linear lobes of up to 15 cm in length (Jongbloed et al. 2003). Mauve, sweet smelling flowers are present between February and May (Jongbloed et al. 2003). The fruits are either straight or slightly curved, ranging fro 1-1.5 cm in length with a narrow thread like appendage at the tip (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It is generally found growing in gravel plains and terraces, in addition to fields within the mountains (Jongbloed et al. 2003, G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019). This species is a food plant for the Baton Blue butterfly, Pseudophilotes sinaicus, in addition to a beetle species, Lyttonyx bicolor (Gillett and Gillett 1996, Feulner 2005).
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.
