Taxon name
Indigofera arabica
Jaub. & Spach
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Indigofera arabica
Jaub. & Spach
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Species authority
Jaub. & Spach
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 has previously been assessed as Least Concern. Although there is little information available on the current threats and population trend, this species appears to be characteristic of its preferred habitats and locally common within these areas. As a result, 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, Indigofera arabica occurs within the plains to the west of the Hajar Mountains (Jongbloed et al. 2003). Globally, this species is known from northeast tropical Africa, to the Arabian Peninsula and Pakistan (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
Indigofera arabica is found growing on sand and gravel plains, mountains and within wadis (Jongbloed et al. 2003, MEW 2010, Mahmoud et al. 2018). It is a perennial shrub species (Fawzi and Ksiksi 2012, Mahmoud et al. 2018) and a crop wild relative of Indigo, Indigofera tinctoria (Kameswara Rao 2010). The plant has woody stems and can grow up to 30 cm in height, producing small red flowers between February and June (Jongbloed et al. 2003). This species is characteristic of the habitat found at the top of jebels, and is thought to be a xerohalophyte (a desert based salt-tolerant plant; Böer and Saenger 2006).
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.
