Dracaena ombet

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
PLANTAE	TRACHEOPHYTA	LILIOPSIDA	LILIALES	DRACAENACEAE

Scientific Name:

Dracaena ombet

Species Authority:

Kotschy & Peyr.

Common Name/s:

English

–

Gabal Elba Dragon Tree

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Endangered A1cd ver 2.3

Year Published:

1998

Annotations:

Needs updating

Assessor/s:

World Conservation Monitoring Centre

Reviewer/s:

Contributor/s:

History:

1997

–

Vulnerable (Walter and Gillett 1998)

Geographic Range [top]

Countries:	Native: Djibouti; Egypt; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Saudi Arabia; Somalia; Sudan
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	A once widespread and abundant species known as the Nubian dragon tree, it has experienced population declines throughout its range. Scattered individuals remain in inaccessible areas. The subpopulations on the Red Sea Hills and Jebel Elba in Sudan and Egypt are particularly threatened. Other smaller subpopulations have been discovered in recent years in southeastern Egypt near the Sudanese border at Gebel Shindeeb, and it may also occur on Gebel Shinodai (El Azzouni 2003). A survey of the Gebel Shindeeb subpopulations shows that they comprise only mature plants, many of which appear unhealthy, either as a result of the drought conditions or an attach by a parasitic pest or disease (El Azzouni 2003). The infected subpopulations are showing signs of a marked decline and there was no evidence of any young plants (El Azzouni 2003). In northern Sudan it appears that the populations of D. ombet have completely vanished from Erowit, the only area where they are known to have existed in that country (El Azzouni 2003).

Population:

A once widespread and abundant species known as the Nubian dragon tree, it has experienced population declines throughout its range. Scattered individuals remain in inaccessible areas. The subpopulations on the Red Sea Hills and Jebel Elba in Sudan and Egypt are particularly threatened. Other smaller subpopulations have been discovered in recent years in southeastern Egypt near the Sudanese border at Gebel Shindeeb, and it may also occur on Gebel Shinodai (El Azzouni 2003).

A survey of the Gebel Shindeeb subpopulations shows that they comprise only mature plants, many of which appear unhealthy, either as a result of the drought conditions or an attach by a parasitic pest or disease (El Azzouni 2003). The infected subpopulations are showing signs of a marked decline and there was no evidence of any young plants (El Azzouni 2003).

In northern Sudan it appears that the populations of D. ombet have completely vanished from Erowit, the only area where they are known to have existed in that country (El Azzouni 2003).

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Grows on mountains in the desert. The mature fruits are edible and eaten by local people as a supplement to their meagre diet.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Overgrazing, overcutting, droughts and possibly attack by parasitic pests or disease have contributed to the decline.

Major Threat(s):

Overgrazing, overcutting, droughts and possibly attack by parasitic pests or disease have contributed to the decline.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	A research programme to study and conserve D. ombet has been initiated in Gebel Elba and the surrounding Mountains (El Azzouni 2003).

Conservation Actions:

A research programme to study and conserve D. ombet has been initiated in Gebel Elba and the surrounding Mountains (El Azzouni 2003).

Citation:	World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. Dracaena ombet. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 22 May 2013.
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