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Scientific Name | Melanospermum italae Hilliard |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | SCROPHULARIACEAE |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Vulnerable B1ab(iii) |
Assessment Date | 2007/10/01 |
Assessor(s) | C.R. Scott-Shaw, I.M. Johnson & L. von Staden |
Justification | Known from less than 10 locations within an EOO of 6700 km². The habitat is being impacted by severe overgrazing, which is likely to be causing continuing decline to the population. |
Distribution |
Endemism | Not endemic to South Africa |
Provincial distribution | KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga |
Range | Louwsburg, Piet Retief and near Mbabane (Swaziland). |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Ithala Quartzite Sourveld, KaNgwane Montane Grassland |
Description | Mistbelt grassland, in sandy or gritty places around or on rock sheets and around extensive rock outcrops, 1200-1500 m. |
Threats |
| The habitat of this species is ideally suited to forestry plantations, and much of the habitat across the range has been transformed to plantations in the past (NLC 1996). There is severe ongoing decline in the quality of grassland fragments outside of nature reserves around Louwsburg due to excessive overgrazing (C.R. Scott-Shaw pers. comm.) Little is known about current threats elsewhere in the range. |
Population |
Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Melanospermum italae Hilliard | VU B1ab(iii) | Raimondo et al. (2009) | | Melanospermum italae Hilliard | VU | Scott-Shaw (1999) | | Melanospermum italae Hilliard | Vulnerable | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | |
Bibliography |
Hilton-Taylor, C. 1996. Red data list of southern African plants. Strelitzia 4. South African National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
Raimondo, D., von Staden, L., Foden, W., Victor, J.E., Helme, N.A., Turner, R.C., Kamundi, D.A. and Manyama, P.A. 2009. Red List of South African Plants. Strelitzia 25. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
Scott-Shaw, C.R. 1999. Rare and threatened plants of KwaZulu-Natal and neighbouring regions. KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service, Pietermaritzburg.
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Citation |
| Scott-Shaw, C.R., Johnson, I.M. & von Staden, L. 2007. Melanospermum italae Hilliard. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2024/09/14 |
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