Elephant's Foot

Taxonomy
Scientific Name
Dioscorea elephantipes (L'Hér.) Engl.
Higher Classification
Monocotyledons
Family
DIOSCOREACEAE
Synonyms
Testudinaria elephantipes Lindl., Testudinaria montana Burch.
Common Names
Elephant's Foot (e), Hotnotsbrood (a), Olifantsvoet (a), Skilpaddop (a)
National Status
Status and Criteria
Least Concern
Assessment Date
2022/08/03
Assessor(s)
J.E. Victor, A.P. Dold & N.N. Mhlongo
Justification
Dioscorea elephantipes is widespread and has an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 266 005 km ², and an area of occupancy (AOO) of 340 km². It is still fairly common and is estimated to occur in over 30 locations. It is threatened by grazing and trampling by Angora goats and the illegal collection for the specialist horticultural and traditional medicine trade. However, less than 10% of the population has been lost due to these pressures. It therefore qualifies for listing as Least Concern.
Distribution
Endemism
South African endemic
Provincial distribution
Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Western Cape
Range
This species is endemic to the Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces, where it extends from the Richtersveld to the western Karoo and south through the Karoo to Uniondale and Graff-Reinet.
Habitat and Ecology
Major system
Terrestrial
Major habitats
Albany Thicket, Desert, Fynbos, Grassland, Succulent Karoo
Description
It grows in rocky (quartzite and shale), east-facing hillsides.
Threats
Formerly widespread and common, this geophyte has become threatened by illegal collecting for the specialist horticultural trade. The population is declining as a result of illegal collection with 236 plants included in confiscations between March 2019 and July 2022, many more are likely to have been removed from the wild but not intercepted by law enforcement efforts. It is also targeted extensively because of its medicinal value. In the Eastern Cape, plants are eaten and sometimes destroyed by Angora goats.
Population

Less than 10% of this species population is suspected to have been lost due to illegal collecting for the specialist horticultural and medicinal trade, or due to predation by goats. Ongoing monitoring of trade will be required to determine if poaching will result in a higher proportion of the population declining.


Population trend
Decreasing
Assessment History
Taxon assessed
Status and Criteria
Citation/Red List version
Dioscorea elephantipes (L'Hér.) Engl.Declining Raimondo et al. (2009)
Dioscorea elephantipes (L'Hér.) Engl.Vulnerable Hilton-Taylor (1996)
Bibliography

Archibald, E.E.A. 1967. The genus Dioscorea in the Cape Province west of East London. Journal of South African Botany 33:1-46.


Burkill, I.H. 1952. Testudinaria as a section of the genus Dioscorea. Journal of South African Botany 18:177-191.


Goldblatt, P. and Manning, J.C. 2000. Cape Plants: A conspectus of the Cape Flora of South Africa. Strelitzia 9. National Botanical Institute, Cape Town.


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.


Victor, J.E. and Dold, A.P. 2003. Threatened plants of the Albany Centre of Floristic Endemism, South Africa. South African Journal of Science 99:437-446.


Citation
Victor, J.E., Dold, A.P. & Mhlongo, N.N. 2022. Dioscorea elephantipes (L'Hér.) Engl. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/02/11

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Distribution map


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