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Scientific Name | Conophytum globosum (N.E.Br.) N.E.Br. |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | AIZOACEAE |
Synonyms | Conophytum globosum (N.E.Br.) N.E.Br. var. vanbredae (L.Bolus) Rawé, Conophytum obovatum Lavis, Conophytum obovatum Lavis var. obovatum, Conophytum obovatum Lavis var. obtusum L.Bolus, Conophytum vanbredae L.Bolus, Conophytum vanbredai L.Bolus as "vanbredae", Mesembryanthemum globosum N.E.Br. |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Critically Endangered A4d |
Assessment Date | 2021/11/23 |
Assessor(s) | A.J. Young, P.G. Desmet, I. Ebrahim, D. Guo, A. Harrower, L. Jabar, L. Knoetze, C. Rodgerson, P.C.V. Van Wyk & N.N. Mhlongo |
Justification | This succulent is endemic to the Northern Cape province of South Africa with an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 758 km² and area of occupancy (AOO) of 60 km². The population is in decline due to the illegal ornamental succulent plant trade, with many thousands of plants removed from habitat since 2019. Illegal collection is likely to increase as there has been a dramatic increase in the number of species and volume of plants targeted since 2019. The continued threat of illegal collection is therefore regarded as very high for this particular species and a decline of up to 95% of the population within the next three generations (90 years) is likely. Climate change is also highly likely to impact the population although there is uncertainty of the response given the expected resilience of this taxon. It therefore qualifies as Critically Endangered under criterion A4. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Northern Cape |
Range | This succulent is endemic to the winter rainfall region of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Namaqualand Heuweltjieveld, Namaqualand Klipkoppe Shrubland |
Description | This dwarf succulent is endemic to the Namaqualand Hardeveld bioregion of the Succulent Karoo biome. Unlike many taxa in the genus the plants are not restricted to a particular geology and are found on both granite but also on quartz. This species has a generation length of 30 years. It is expected to be sensitive to the impacts of climate change as it does not disperse and while adapted to arid conditions, is dependent on limited seasonal rainfall. Species in the genus are sensitive to long periods of drought. Drought related mortality has been observed for other closely related taxa within the genus. |
Threats |
| This species has been subject to illegal collection of mature individuals for the international trade in ornamental succulents with several thousand plants being removed since 2019. This species has been highly sought after by collectors and is highly likely to remain so in future. Grazing and trampling by livestock remains a low-level localised threat to some populations. Anthropogenic climate change is a major threat to this species. While it is not possible to model the response of this species to climate change due to its restricted distribution, the average loss to climate change for 15 more widely distributed Conophytum species occurring within the same region is used as an indication of likely impact to this species. Climate models for the likely emission scenarios where emissions stay at present day levels (RCP 2.6) (Hausfather and Peters 2020) and worst case scenarios where emissions continue to increase during the 21st century (RCP 8.5) indicate that there will be a loss of suitable bioclimatic envelope of between 72% and 99% by 2080 for Conophytum taxa within the region. However, as this taxon is found across several vegetation units it is expected to have a level of resilience to climate change and the expected population loss is reduced by 20% to 52%. Species in this genus have limited dispersal ability and migration to suitable habitats elsewhere is regarded as highly unlikely. |
Population |
There are no formal estimates of population size for this species but the number of mature individuals is likely to be between 20,000 and 40,000 mature individuals. The population is in decline due to illegal collection for the ornamental succulent plant trade. At least 15,000 plants have been removed from habitat between 2019 and the end of 2021 based on confiscation records, with many more having likely been removed but not intercepted by law enforcers.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Conophytum globosum (N.E.Br.) N.E.Br. | VU B1ab(v)+2ab(v) | 2020.1 | | Conophytum globosum (N.E.Br.) N.E.Br. | Rare | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
Bibliography |
Hammer, S. 2002. Dumpling and his wife: New view of the genus Conophytum. EAE Creative Colour, Norwich.
Hammer, S.A. 1993. The genus Conophytum: A conograph. Succulent Plant Publications, Pretoria.
Hausfather, Z. and Peters, G.P. 2020. Emissions - the 'business as usual' story is misleading. Nature 577(618-620).
Opel, M.R. 2004. The rediscovery of Crassula alcicornis. Haseltonia 10:38-40.
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Citation |
| Young, A.J., Desmet, P.G., Ebrahim, I., Guo, D., Harrower, A., Jabar, L., Knoetze, L., Rodgerson, C., Van Wyk, P.C.V. & Mhlongo, N.N. 2021. Conophytum globosum (N.E.Br.) N.E.Br. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2024/10/06 |
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