Assessment rationale/justification
This species has a very restricted known distribution in the UAE, where it is currently known from a few locations in the Hajar Mountains. Given the records from adjacent parts of Oman, the presence of the species in suitable habitat around Hatta within the UAE might be expected, but it was not found during surveys by Feulner and Karki (2009). Based on the currently known localities, the area of occupancy (AOO) is very much less than 50 km<sup>2</sup> measured using the required 2x2 km grid, however, the actual area represented by the two localities is probably just a few square meters. The extent of occurrence (EOO) is around 280 km<sup>2</sup>. In addition, the species occurs in four threat-based locations and is thought to be undergoing a continuing decline in the extent and quality of habitat. As a result, the restricted distribution meets the threshold for Endangered under Criterion B1 and B2. Overall, the three known localities in the UAE comprise c.100 plants (inferred here to equal mature individuals). Both sites are subject to heavy recreational use. Therefore, the species also qualifies as Endangered under Criterion D, due to the small number of mature individuals. Whilst the seed dispersal mechanisms for this species are not known, the potential for dispersal from adjacent populations in Oman (by wind, water, by animals (especially water birds), as well as by human transport) is considered to be high. As a result, the category is downgraded by one category from Endangered to Vulnerable (VU B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii); D) for this UAE national assessment. Monitoring is essential for this species, and it should be reassessed if new data become available on, for example, new records for the UAE, population size or trend, or the potential for seed immigration from Oman.
