A brief report is presented of the discovery in Abu Dhabi Emirate, on the first recorded case of naturalization of a species of Apocynaceae, Asclepias curassavica L., which is an alien species in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This species is occasionally cultivated in the UAE as an ornamental plant and sometimes runs wild and grows as a weed around gardens (Byalt and Korshunov, 2021a). A small, naturalized population of this species was discovered in November 2011 in Wadi Tarabat on Jebel Hafeet, a mountain just south of Al Ain. Jebel Hafeet (1,140 m) is a limestone anticline, which is 17 km long and 4 km wide and is isolated from the Hajar range of mountains located 20 km to the east. Asclepias is pollinated here by local butterflies and wasps and produces many seeds with pappus that are easily distributed by wind. In one place, in Abu Dhabi Emirate, it is truly naturalized, blooming and bearing fruit constantly, and should therefore be recommended for inclusion in the list of invasive species in the UAE.

Skvortsovia: 10(1): 1 – 13 (published on line 26 August 2024)