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Scientific Name | Restio rigoratus (Mast.) H.P.Linder & C.R.Hardy |
Higher Classification | Monocotyledons |
Family | RESTIONACEAE |
Synonyms | Calopsis rigorata (Mast.) H.P.Linder, Leptocarpus rigoratus Mast., Leptocarpus rigoratus Mast. var. simulans Pillans |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Endangered A2c |
Assessment Date | 2014/09/23 |
Assessor(s) | N.A. Helme, L. von Staden & H.P. Linder |
Justification | A population reduction of at least 50% is inferred from 80% habitat loss over three generations (generation length 50 years). This once common species is becoming increasingly rare, and most subpopulations remain in small remnants, where they continue to decline due to ongoing habitat loss and degradation. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Western Cape |
Range | Malmesbury to the upper Breede River Valley and Agulhas Plain. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Elgin Shale Fynbos, Swartland Alluvium Fynbos, Lourensford Alluvium Fynbos, Atlantis Sand Fynbos, Cape Flats Sand Fynbos, Agulhas Sand Fynbos, Elim Ferricrete Fynbos, Breede Alluvium Fynbos, Cape Winelands Shale Fynbos, Swartland Shale Renosterveld, Swartland Granite Renosterveld, Peninsula Shale Renosterveld, Western Ruens Shale Renosterveld, Central Ruens Shale Renosterveld, Ceres Shale Renosterveld, Breede Shale Renosterveld, Boland Granite Fynbos |
Description | Sandy, seasonally waterlogged flats overlaying shale or ferricrete. |
Threats |
| Less than 20% of this species' lowland habitat remains intact. On the Cape Flats, Swartland, and Overberg, only small remnants remain after extensive loss to urban expansion and crop cultivation. Most remaining fragments are infested with unmanaged alien invasive plants, and loss and degradation continues. On the Agulhas Plain, especially around Elim, ferricrete fynbos is extensively cultivated, and competition from dense, unmanaged alien invasive plants are also threatening other subpopulations further south. |
Population |
A large number of historical records indicate that Restio rigoratus was once a common species, but it has declined extensively, and on the Cape Flats and Swartland now remains in only a few, isolated remnants of intact habitat. It is however still fairly common east of Houw Hoek and on the Agulhas Plain (Linder 2011), but in these areas, it is also declining due to ongoing habitat loss and degradation. Plants resprout after fires, and appear to rely on vegetative reproduction, as in several populations only female plants have been recorded (Linder 2011). As a resprouter, this species is likely to be long-lived (generation length at least 50 years), and based on extensive habitat loss, it is inferred that the population has declined by at least 50% within three generations.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Notes |
| This species is very similar to and easily confused with the widespread and common Restio vimineus, and they may be the same species. The two however occupy different habitats, with R. vimineus found on well-drained slopes and lower plateaux, while R. rigoratus is typically confined to seasonally waterlogged flats on the coastal lowlands (Linder 2011). |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Restio rigoratus (Mast.) H.P.Linder & C.R.Hardy | EN A2c | 2015.1 | | Calopsis rigorata (Mast.) H.P.Linder | Least Concern | Raimondo et al. (2009) | | Calopsis rigorata (Mast.) H.P.Linder | Vulnerable | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | | Leptocarpus rigoratus Mast. var. simulans Pillans | Endangered | Hall et al. (1980) | |
Bibliography |
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.
Linder, H.P. 2011. The African Restionaceae: an Interactive Key identification and description system. Version 6. http://www.systbot.uzh.ch/Bestimmungsschluessel/Restionaceae_en.html. Downloaded.
Linder, H.P. and Hardy, C.R. 2010. A generic reclassification of the Restioneae (Restionaceae), southern Africa. Bothalia 40(1):1-35.
Manning, J.C. and Goldblatt, P. 2012. Plants of the Greater Cape Floristic Region 1: The Core Cape Flora. Strelitzia 29. South African National Biodiversity 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.
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Citation |
| Helme, N.A., von Staden, L. & Linder, H.P. 2014. Restio rigoratus (Mast.) H.P.Linder & C.R.Hardy. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/09 |
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