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Scientific Name | Gymnosporia woodii Szyszyl. |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | CELASTRACEAE |
Synonyms | Gymnosporia crataegiflora Davidson |
Common Names | Inanda Spikethorn (e), Wood's Spikethorn (e) |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Endangered B1ab(iii,v)+2ab(iii,v); C2a(i) |
Assessment Date | 2007/09/07 |
Assessor(s) | D. Styles & L. von Staden |
Justification | EOO 122 km², known from five severely fragmented subpopulations. There is severe, ongoing degradation of remaining habitat fragments due to overgrazing, alien plant invasion and expanding human settlements. Skewed sex ratios in small isolated subpopulations and a deleterious fire regime are preventing successful reproduction. Fewer than 300 mature individuals remain, subpopulation sizes vary between one and 150 plants. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | KwaZulu-Natal |
Range | Inanda district near Durban. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | KwaZulu-Natal Sandstone Sourveld, KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Belt Grassland |
Description | Sandstone grasslands. |
Threats |
| Much of the habitat has already been transformed by agriculture (sugarcane) and urban development. The habitat is being continually degraded by severe overgrazing, encroachment by rural settlements and spreading alien invasive species, mainly wattles.
No fruit set has been observed in wild populations. It is thought that this species is a palaeoendemic with low fecundity relying mostly on vegetative reproduction (M. Jordaan pers. comm. to D. Styles). However, observations in cultivated plants revealed that fruit maturation is extremely slow. It is thought that too frequent overburning of the grasslands where this species occurs prevents the development of fruits, as aboveground plant parts are destroyed in fires including the flowers and immature fruits (D. Styles pers. comm.) This species is also dioecious - severe fragmentation of the grassland habitat has led to skewed sex ratios in small isolated subpopulations - some sites are thought to contain only clones of a single sex and this may also explain the poor reproductive output. |
Population |
Five subpopulations, number of individuals per subpopulation ranges from 1 to 150 plants.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Conservation |
| Not formally conserved in a protected area at present. Some plants have been introduced into cultivation (D. Styles pers. comm.). |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Gymnosporia woodii Szyszyl. | EN B1ab(iii,v)+2ab(iii,v); C2a(i) | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
Bibliography |
Boon, R. 2010. Pooley's Trees of eastern South Africa. Flora and Fauna Publications Trust, Durban.
Jordaan, M. 2004. The spikethorns (Gymnosporia) in southern Africa. Part 3: Section Buxifolia. PlantLife 30:48-60.
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.
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Citation |
| Styles, D. & von Staden, L. 2007. Gymnosporia woodii Szyszyl. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/09 |
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