| Scientific Name | Clivia nobilis Lindl. | Higher Classification | Monocotyledons | Family | AMARYLLIDACEAE | Common Names | Boslelie (a), Bush Lily (e), Cape Clivia (e), Eastern Cape Clivia (e), Red Bush Lily (e), Umayime (z) |
National Status | Status and Criteria | Vulnerable A2cd | Assessment Date | 2022/07/21 | Assessor(s) | V.L. Williams, D. Raimondo, N.R. Crouch, A.B. Cunningham, C.R. Scott-Shaw, M. Lötter, A.M. Ngwenya, P. Rourke, D.A. Snijman, A.P. Dold & J.E. Victor | Justification | The population has declined by at least 30% in the last 120 years (generation length 40 years) due to harvesting for the medicinal plant trade, horticultural acquisitions and some habitat destruction caused by coastal development. |
Distribution | Endemism | South African endemic | Provincial distribution | Eastern Cape | Range | This species occurs in the Eastern Cape province, where it is found near Mbashe river southwest to Butterworth, from the Suurberg mountains to north of Sundays river mouth, Grahamstown and East London. |
Habitat and Ecology | Major system | Terrestrial | Major habitats | Southern Coastal Forest, Scarp Forest, Southern Mistbelt Forest, Hamburg Dune Thicket, Umtiza Forest Thicket, Nanaga Savanna Thicket, Kasouga Dune Thicket, Buffels Valley Thicket, Albany Valley Thicket, Albany Mesic Thicket | Description | It occurs in forest margins and coastal dunes, riverbanks and wooded kloofs. |
Threats | | This species is threatened by harvesting for the traditional medicine trade. Traders do not distinguish between Clivia species and all species are therefore at risk of over-exploitation. The primary factor determining which species is sold on a particular day in the market relates to where a harvester has managed to find subpopulations to exploit. Five Clivia species found in South Africa are harvested for traditional medicine and have been recorded in all the major medicinal plant markets in South Africa. Clivia miniata and C. nobilis were the most frequently referenced species in the literature, but C. miniata, C. caulescens and C. gardenii are the most prevalent in the markets. The whole plant (except for the flowers) is used and the tops of the leaves are typically cut off, thereby making it difficult to distinguish between the species. Cunningham (1988) estimated that 397 bags (50kg-size) were sold annually by 54 traders, which probably represented a quarter of the total quantity sold in the region at the time. The species was classed as 'rare and vulnerable' — i.e. a species with a relatively small population that is vulnerable to over-exploitation if exploitation for medicinal purposes continues (Cunningham 1988). In 2001, 26% of the Faraday Market traders in Johannesburg sold Clivia spp. (ranked thirteenth in order of prevalence), and the volume present in the market at the time of the two week survey was equivalent to 11 bags (50 kg-size) (Williams 2003). The volume purchased annually by traders in Faraday was conservatively estimated to be at least 200 bags. However, inconsistent availability of the species has been noted by the traders. One quarter of the Faraday traders selling clivias also noted that it was scarce and increasingly difficult to obtain. The prevalence and popularity of the genus in other markets is reportedly high. Assessments for Mpumalanga (Mander 1997) and KwaZulu-Natal (Mander 1998) ranked Clivia spp. as being in the top 10 of the most frequently demanded plants. On the Witwatersrand in 1994, the genus was sold by 66% of the muthi shops and was also ranked thirteenth out of more than 450 species in terms of its occurrence in the shops (Williams et al. 2000, Williams 2007). There seems to be a preference by traders for younger and smaller individuals. Clivia nobilis is sold more in the Eastern Cape closer to its source and is less prevalent in other markets, although plants cited as having been harvested within its range occasionally find their way to the Johannesburg markets (V.L. Williams, pers. obs.)
The whole plant of Clivia nobilis is dug up, hence harvesting is very destructive. However, the species is found in some inaccessible areas and so is protected to a limited extent. The species is not attractive to specialist horticultural collectors because it is the slowest growing of all the Clivia species. Hence main threats are muthi collections and habitat destruction/degradation. |
Population | Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Clivia nobilis Lindl. | VU A2cd | Raimondo et al. (2009) | | Clivia nobilis Lindl. | Lower Risk - Least Concern | Victor (2002) | | Clivia nobilis Lindl. | Not Threatened | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | | Clivia nobilis Lindl. | Rare | Hall et al. (1980) | |
Bibliography | Bredenkamp, C.L. 2019. A flora of the Eastern Cape Province. Strelitzia 41. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
Crouch, N., Ndlovu, E., Mullholland, D.A. and Pohl, T.L. 2003. The genus Clivia in ethnomedicine: usage, bioactivity and phytochemistry. Clivia Yearbook 5.
Cunningham, A.B. 1988. An investigation of the herbal medicine trade in Natal/KwaZulu. Investigational Report No. 29. Institute of Natural Resources, Pietermaritzburg.
Hall, A.V., De Winter, M., De Winter, B. and Van Oosterhout, S.A.M. 1980. Threatened plants of southern Africa. South African National Scienctific Programmes Report 45. CSIR, Pretoria.
Hilton-Taylor, C. 1996. Red data list of southern African plants. Strelitzia 4. South African National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
Mander, M. 1997. Medicinal plant marketing in Bushbuckridge and Mpumalanga: a market survey and recommended strategies for sustaining the supply plants in the region. Danish Cooperation for Environment and Development, Danish Environmental Protection Agency, Strandgade.
Mander, M. 1998. Marketing of indigenous medicinal plants in South Africa: a case study in KwaZulu-Natal. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
Phillipson, P.B. 1995. What is the Albany hot-spot? The Naturalist 39:14-19.
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. 2002. South Africa. In: J.S. Golding (ed), Southern African plant Red Data Lists. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report 14 (pp. 93-120), SABONET, 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.
Vorster, P.J. 1994. Clivia nobilis. Flowering Plants of Africa 53:70-74.
Williams, V.L. 2003. Hawkers of health: an investigation of the Faraday Street traditional medicine market in Johannesburg. Report to Gauteng Directorate for Nature Conservation, DACEL.
Williams, V.L. 2007. The design of a risk assessment model to determine the impact of the herbal medicine trade on the Witwatersrand on resources of indigenous plant species. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Williams, V.L., Balkwill, K. and Witkowski, E.T.F. 2000. Unravelling the commercial market for medicinal plants and plant parts on the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Economic Botany 54(3):310-327.
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Citation | | Williams, V.L., Raimondo, D., Crouch, N.R., Cunningham, A.B., Scott-Shaw, C.R., Lötter, M., Ngwenya, A.M., Rourke, P., Snijman, D.A., Dold, A.P. & Victor, J.E. 2022. Clivia nobilis Lindl. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/12 |
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