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Scientific Name | Oryza longistaminata A.Chev. & Roehr. |
Higher Classification | Monocotyledons |
Family | POACEAE |
Synonyms | Oryza barthii of other authors, not of A.Chev. (misapplied name) |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Vulnerable D2 |
Assessment Date | 2007/06/20 |
Assessor(s) | J.E. Victor, L. Fish & P.A. Manyama |
Justification | The South African subpopulation may actually be a single clonal individual. This 'subpopulation' is potentially threatened by water pollution and upstream water extraction. It is unknown whether the other African subpopulations are also clonal. |
Distribution |
Endemism | Not endemic to South Africa |
Provincial distribution | Limpopo |
Range | In South Africa only near Mookgophong, widespread across tropical Africa. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Freshwater |
Major habitats | Springbokvlakte Thornveld |
Description | Seasonally flooded areas, wetlands, 900-1000 m. |
Threats |
| Potentially threatened by inappropriate management and disturbances to the floodplain.
There's no clear indication of ongoing population decline. |
Population |
Population trend | Stable |
Notes |
| In South Africa O. longistaminata is found on the floodplains of Nylsvley wetland system, where it is a keystone species in the ecology of the wetland system. Dominance by this species is checked by the disturbance of warthogs that forage on the floodplain during the dry season and create patches where other species have an opportunity to become established.
O. longistaminata at Nylsvley only spreads vegetatively and it is thought that the entire population is a single genetic clone, effectively a single individual. This makes it extremely vulnerable to disturbance since it does not have the genetic variability at this site to accommodate environmental shifts. This characteristic may be present throughout the whole geographic range of the species but no research has been undertaken to investigate this.
Flowers from October to May. It is a good fodder grass and the underground parts are often dug up by wart hog; It has been reported as a weed in rice fields. |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Oryza longistaminata A.Chev. & Roehr. | VU D2 | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
Bibliography |
Cook, C.D.K. 2004. Aquatic and wetland plants of southern Africa. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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.
Sieben, E.J.J. 2009. The status and distribution of vascular plants (Magnoliophyta, Lycophyta, Pteridophyta). In: W.R.T. Darwall, K.G. Smith, D. Tweddle and P. Skelton (eds.), The status and distribution of freshwater biodiversity in southern Africa (pp. 83-98), IUCN and SAIAB, Gland, Switzerland and Grahamstown, South Africa.
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Citation |
| Victor, J.E., Fish, L. & Manyama, P.A. 2007. Oryza longistaminata A.Chev. & Roehr. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/14 |
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