Scorzonera tortuosissima | UAE National Red List of Vascular Plants

Taxa
Scorzonera tortuosissima | Boiss.
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
Taxonomic Notes
Both species, S. koelpinioides and S. tortuosissima, have the same chromosome number, 2n = 28 (32) (M. Naas pers. comm.).
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
In the UAE, this species is reported from a single locality in the upper parts of Jebel Hafeet (Jongbloed et al. 2003). The draft Red Data Book (MEW 2010) considered the record to be unconfirmed. Whilst detailed locality data for Jebel Hafeet are not available, the extent of occurrence and area of occupancy are both likely to be less than 8 km<sup>2</sup>. Although, in general, records of this species within the UAE appear to be unconfirmed (G. Brown pers. comm. 2019). G. Brown, S. Sakkir and S. Ghazanfar state that they have not seen this species within the UAE or in Oman (pers. comm. 2019). The global distribution requires confirmation, but the species appears to be restricted to the West Asia region, from the Sinai and southern Israel to the Arabian Peninsula and east to Afghanistan (Kilian et al. 2019), although Plants of the World Online (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019) does not cite occurrence in the UAE.
Habitats and Ecology
Ecological system type
Terrestrial system
No
Freshwater system
No
Marine system
No
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
In the UAE, the species is found on rocky slopes (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It is a desert perennial sub-shrub that grows to 0.1 m in height (Jongbloed et al. 2003).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Assessed status
Asessment status in full
Data Deficient
Assessment status abreviation
DD
Assessment rationale/justification
Despite appearing to have a relatively restricted distribution within the UAE, this is based on unconfirmed records. More information is needed on this species' distribution within the UAE, in addition to the threats it faces and its population size and trends, before its extinction risk can be accurately assessed. Therefore, it is currently considered to be Data Deficient.
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
Feral goat grazing, invasive plant species, and tourism are likely to impact the habitat of this species on Jebel Hafeet (Sakkir et al. 2018, Bayoumi 2019).
Conservation Measures

Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:

Scientific Name Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Scorzonera tortuosissima Plantae Tracheophyta Magnoliopsida Asterales Asteraceae Scorzonera