Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Species authority
Forssk.
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 can grow in a range of habitats, including sandy plains, gravel terraces and mountainous areas, in addition to surviving at a range of elevations. It is described as locally common and is known to occur in at least one protected area within its range. 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
Within the UAE, this species occurs in sand plains between Ajman and Umm al-Quwain in the north of the country, in addition to between Manam and Ras al Khaimah (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It has also been recorded from the Ru'us al-Jibal at low elevations of around 250 m up to 1,000 m (Jongbloed et al. 2003). Globally, the native range of this species spans from Spain and Portugal in Europe, across northern Africa and into parts of Central Asia, and east to India (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019). Kew also considers the species to be native to California, USA, and Mexico in the Americas, however GRIN (2010) considers it to be naturalised there.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This annual herb species is known to grow in sand plains and within mountain habitats, in addition to gravel terraces (Feulner 2011, Fawzi and Ksiksi 2012, Mahmoud et al. 2018). It has virtually no stem, with leaves arranged at the base, although small cream flowers grow on long stalks between January and May (Jongbloed et al. 2003). The leaves are generally covered in fine, silky hairs and the fruit is an elliptic capsule which contains two seeds (Jongbloed et al. 2003).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Grazing by goats may affect this species in parts of its range (Heneidy et al. 2018, Shahid 2017).
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.
