European Red List of Medicinal Plants Compiled by David Allen, Melanie Bilz, Danna J. Leaman, Rebecca M. Miller, Anastasiya Timoshyna and Jemma Window Published by the European Commission. The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN or the European Union concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN or the European Union. Citation: Allen, D., Bilz, M., Leaman, D.J., Miller, R.M., Timoshyna, A. and Window, J. 2014. European Red List of Medicinal Plants. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Design and layout: Imre Sebestyén jr. / UNITgraphics.com Printed by: Rosseels Printing Picture credits on cover page: Artemisia granatensis is endemic to the mountains of Sierra Nevada, southern Spain. The plant is considered Endangered as a result of population decline and range contraction. ©José Quiles Hoyo / www.florasilvestre.es All photographs used in this publication remain the property of the original copyright holder (see individual captions for details). Photographs should not be reproduced or used in other contexts without written permission from the copyright holder. 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Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder. Printed in Belgium The text of this book is printed on 130 gsm 100% recycled paper (CyclusPrint, FSC and EU Ecolabel certified) Table of contents Foreword .................................................................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................... v Executive summary ................................................................................................................................................ viii 1. Background .........................................................................................................................................................1 1.1 The European context ..................................................................................................................................1 1.2 European medicinal plants: diversity and endemism ....................................................................................2 1.3 Species threat status .....................................................................................................................................4 1.4 Objectives of the assessment.........................................................................................................................5 2. Assessment methodology...................................................................................................................................10 2.1 Geographic scope .......................................................................................................................................10 2.2 Global and regional assessments .................................................................................................................10 2.3 Taxonomic scope .......................................................................................................................................10 2.4 Assessment protocol ...................................................................................................................................10 2.5 Methodology for spatial analyses ................................................................................................................11 2.6 Review and evaluation of the assessments ...................................................................................................11 3. The status and distribution of medicinal plants in Europe ..............................................................................14 3.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................................................14 3.2 Species selection .........................................................................................................................................14 3.3 Conservation status of European medicinal plants .....................................................................................15 3.4 Spatial distribution of species .....................................................................................................................17 3.4.1 Overall species richness ...................................................................................................................17 3.4.2 Distribution of threatened species ...................................................................................................17 3.4.3 Distribution of endemic species ......................................................................................................19 3.4.4 Distribution of Data Deficient species ............................................................................................19 3.5 Major threats to medicinal plants in Europe ..............................................................................................20 3.6 Population trends of medicinal plants in Europe ........................................................................................22 3.7 End uses of the selected medicinal plants ...................................................................................................22 4. Conservation measures ......................................................................................................................................24 4.1 Protection of habitats and species: international framework .......................................................................24 4.2 Protection of habitats and species within the pan Europe and the EU 27 regions .......................................25 4.3 Conservation management of European medicinal plants ..........................................................................27 4.4 Red List extinction risk versus habitat conservation status ..........................................................................29 4.5 Red List status versus priorities for conservation action ..............................................................................30 5. Conclusion and recommendations ...................................................................................................................32 5.1 Recommendations for conservation measures ............................................................................................32 5.2 Application of project outputs ...................................................................................................................33 5.3 Future work ...............................................................................................................................................34 References ...............................................................................................................................................................36 Appendix 1. The Red List status of selected European medicinal plants at the European and EU 27 level ...............42 Appendix 2. Example species summary and distribution map: Crataegus nigra .........................................................54 iii Foreword Europe’s landscape has been As part of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, the shaped by centuries of diverse EU is supporting the development of assessments and farming and forestry traditions. indicators to improve the knowledge and evidence base This has resulted in a wide range on the services provided by nature to society. of agricultural and woodland landscapes and significantly The European Red List of Medicinal Plants is providing contributed to the continent’s for the first time factual information on the status of biodiversity. In addition, the EU's medicinal plants in Europe. This assessment includes Outermost Regions and Europe's 400 vascular plants from ninety families, including large Overseas Countries and Territories are situated in five trees, aquatic plants and epiphytes, and occupying a wide biodiversity hotspots, including areas that host over 20% range of habitats. of the world's coral reefs and lagoons, and 70% of the EU’s biodiversity. The good news is that this new