The National Red List Project

Please note, this National Red List website contains a subset of data whilst we transition to national focal point driven data uploads. We thank you for your patience with this and welcome national contributors to get in touch to update their national dataset. Terms of Use including citation guidance are found here.

The previous dataset is available via: https://archive.nationalredlist.org/. This site is no longer updated but can help with most enquiries whilst we focus on redevelopment.

NRLD - 330958 | Cordia quercifolia

Assessment ID
330958
Taxon name
Cordia quercifolia
Klotzsch
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Cordia quercifolia
Klotzsch
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
tracheophyta
Class
magnoliopsida
Order
boraginales
Family
cordiaceae
Genus
Cordia
Species
quercifolia
Species authority
Klotzsch
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)
Country ISO code(s)
ARE
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Critically Endangered
Abbreviated status
CR
Qualifying criteria (if given)
D
Criteria system used
IUCN

(see Assessment details)

Assessment rationale/justification
Fewer than ten individuals are known from a single location in the UAE. Therefore, Cordia quercifolia is assessed as Critically Endangered (CR D). There is no reason to doubt the native origin of the species in the UAE, despite the species being known from abandoned agricultural areas, as the species is not known to be associated with agricultural areas elsewhere.
Assessment details
Year assessed
2019
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 known from one hillside on the northern slopes of Jebel Naqab within the Ru'us al-Jibal (Feulner 2011). It has been recorded from a single locality within this area (MEW 2010). All known individuals have been found in localities inaccessible to livestock. Globally, this species is native to dry and tropical Africa, in addition to the Arabian Peninsula, India and Sri Lanka (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Terrestrial
Not_assigned
Freshwater
Not_assigned
Marine
Not_assigned
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
It is a straggling tree with fruit, and perhaps leaves, that are edible to livestock. This species is generally found growing on rocky ledges in the mountains.
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
It is likely that Cordia quercifolia is grazed by animals; the currently known individuals occur in localities inaccessible to livestock, but this restricted distribution may be the result of past grazing, and ongoing grazing may prevent colonisation.
History
The species was not recorded in the UAE in 1996 but it is possible that the species was present either in the seedbank or as underground rhizomes, or simply not found, or identified, in surveys. We consider that it is likely to have been present but in similarly small numbers, and would have qualified as CR in 1996.
Publication
UAE National Red List of Vascular Plants
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.