Plantago ovata | UAE National Red List of Vascular Plants

Taxa
Plantago ovata | Forssk.
Publication
UAE National Red List of Vascular Plants
Location
Countries in Assessment
United Arab Emirates
Country ISO code(s)
ARE
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Off
Scope (Assessment)
National
Taxon
Taxonomic Group
Plants
Taxonomic Group Level 2
Flowering Plants
Assessed taxon level
Species
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.
Habitats and Ecology
Ecological system type
Terrestrial system
No
Freshwater system
No
Marine system
No
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).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Assessed status
Asessment status in full
Least Concern
Assessment status abreviation
LC
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.
About the assessment
Assessment year
2019
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Affliation of assessor(s)/contributors/reviewers listed on assessment
Government
IGO
Assessor affiliation specific
Government|IGO
Criteria system
Criteria system specifics
IUCN v3.1 + Regional Guidelines v4.0
Criteria system used
IUCN
Criteria Citation
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.
Endemism
Endemic to region
Not_assigned
Endemism Notes
Is an endemic?: Not_assigned
Conservation
Threats listed in assessment
Grazing by goats may affect this species in parts of its range (Heneidy et al. 2018, Shahid 2017).
Conservation Measures

Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:

Scientific Name Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Plantago ovata Plantae Tracheophyta Magnoliopsida Lamiales Plantaginaceae Plantago