Taxon name
Commicarpus stenocarpus
(Chiov.) Cufod.
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Commicarpus stenocarpus
(Chiov.) Cufod.
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Species authority
(Chiov.) Cufod.
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
This species has been described as being rare in the UAE, but has recently been found to be at least locally common. It had been recorded in the past from an area of metamorphic rocks north of Masafi, and recent investigation of a similar area (Al Khulaybiyah, north of Masafi), recorded c.150 individuals within a single square kilometre (D. Aplin pers. comm. 2019). There is little other information available on the plant's habitat, threats, and conservation. Therefore, it is assessed as Data Deficient at present.
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 has been recorded from north of Masafi (A.R. Western, in Jongbloed et al. 2003; G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019). MEW (2010) considered it to occur in the foothills of the mountains. D. Aplin recently found the species in a narrow, steep-sided, north-facing wadi in metamorphic rocks c.1 km north of Al Khulaybiyah, north of Masafi, in the Emirate of Fujairah (D. Aplin pers. comm. 2019). Further investigations would be needed to determine if this is an isolated population. Globally, this species is native from Eastern Africa (Somalia), through the eastern Arabian Peninsula, to Iran, Pakistan and 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
Commicarpus stenocarpus is a low, spreading, much branched shrub up to 0.6 m, growing in steep north-facing wadi often along steep wadi walls in rocky, scree habitats often associated with the fern Onychium divaricatum, Forsskaolea viridis and Leucas inflata (D. Aplin pers. comm. 2019). The plant is covered in fine glandular greyish hair which feels tacky to the touch. Fruits comprise large glands near the apex with numerous, smaller, reddish glands scattered lower down. Deep pink flowers can be seen flowering from October.
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
There are no immediate threats to the population found in north of Masafi, although at the entrance to the wadi (c.400 m away) there is evidence of recent bulldozing of silt and sand. However, the population resides sufficiently high enough for this not to be a threat (D. Aplin pers. comm. 2019).
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.
