| Scientific Name | Clivia robusta B.G.Murray, Ran, De Lange, Hammett, Truter & Swanevelder | Higher Classification | Monocotyledons | Family | AMARYLLIDACEAE |
National Status | Status and Criteria | Vulnerable A2cd; B1ab(ii,iii,v) | 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, J.E. Victor & A.P. Dold | Justification | EOO 3 100 km², the number of locations is suspected to be less than 10 based on areas accessible to harvesters. There has also been an estimated decline of 30% in the last 90 years (three generations) due to harvesting for the medicinal plant trade. |
Distribution | Endemism | South African endemic | Provincial distribution | Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal | Range | This species occurs in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal provinces of South Africa, where it is distributed in Pondoland, Port St Johns to the uMzimkhulu River north of Oribi Gorge. |
Habitat and Ecology | Major system | Terrestrial | Major habitats | Northern Coastal Forest, Scarp Forest, Southern Mistbelt Forest | Description | Plants grow in swamp forests, seepage areas and streambanks. |
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 (note: some species identified as C. gardenii may be the recently described C. robusta). 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. 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. Older and larger plants were perceived as having more water in them and were thus 'weaker' because of the diluted power - however, most traders will buy whatever they can get due to its popularity (V.L. Williams, pers. obs.). The whole plant of Clivia robusta is dug up, hence harvesting is very destructive.
Human exploitation in the form of habitat destruction and illegal removal of specimens is the main threat to clivias, including C. robusta (Murray et al. 2004). Only the remnants of some C. robusta populations remain (Murray et al. 2004). The bulk harvesting of clivias for the medicinal plant trade is a nationally acknowledged threat to the genus, and threatens its persistence in the wild. The restricted geographical distribution (E00 3 100 km²), restricted habitat and specific ecological niches further threaten the species, even though it may be termed 'locally abundant' at some localities (Murray et al. 2004). The population size is also assumed to have declined in the last 90 years, but the percentage reduction cannot be estimated. |
Population | The survival of C. robusta is constrained by its limited geographical distribution and human exploitation. Limited to the Pondoland Centre of Endemism, this species is further restricted to microhabitats usually associated with patchy afromontane forest elements.
The vegetation of the Pondoland Centre of Endemism consists mainly of grassland plateaus, with a few isolated forest patches in the protected riverine gorges that occasionally spill over onto south- and southwest-facing slopes. Forest is more extensive and exposed in the south of the region. Of all the forest types in this region, swamp forests are most rare, usually comprising small patches associated with marshy areas in grassland. Clivia robusta is found in these swamp forest patches, either sparsely (c. 5-6 plants/10m²) or in extremely dense stands (c. 20 plants/10m²) in wetter areas.
| Population trend | Decreasing |
Notes | | Taxonomy and distribution: Clivia robusta, the new species of Clivia described by Murray et al. (2004), was previously known as the ‘robust’ form of C. gardenii until further investigations revealed it to be a distinct taxon at the rank of genus. The distribution of C. robusta is distinct from that of C. gardenii s.s., with C. gardenii only occurring from Durban northwards. |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Clivia robusta B.G.Murray, Ran, De Lange, Hammett, Truter & Swanevelder | VU A2cd; B1ab(ii,iii,v) | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
Bibliography | Bredenkamp, C.L. 2019. A flora of the Eastern Cape Province. Strelitzia 41. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
Cunningham, A.B. 1988. An investigation of the herbal medicine trade in Natal/KwaZulu. Investigational Report No. 29. Institute of Natural Resources, Pietermaritzburg.
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.
Murray, E.G., Ran, Y., De Lange, P.J., Hammet, K.R.W., Truter, J.T. and Swanevelder, Z.H. 2004. A new species of Clivia (Amyaryllidaeceae) endemic to the Pondoland Centre of Endemism, South Africa. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 146:369-374.
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.
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., Victor, J.E. & Dold, A.P. 2022. Clivia robusta B.G.Murray, Ran, De Lange, Hammett, Truter & Swanevelder. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/04/16 |
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