| Scientific Name | Schlechterina mitostemmatoides Harms | Higher Classification | Dicotyledons | Family | PASSIFLORACEAE | Common Names | Ihlalanyosi (z), Ihlalanyosi-emhlope (z) |
National Status | Status and Criteria | Vulnerable* B1ab(iii,v)+2ab(iii,v) | Assessment Date | 2023/11/26 | Assessor(s) | V.L. Williams, D. Raimondo, N.R. Crouch, A.B. Cunningham, C.R. Scott-Shaw, M. Lötter & A.M. Ngwenya | Justification | In South Africa, this species has an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 392 km² and an area of occupancy (AOO) of 24 km². It is declining in less than five locations due to destructive harvesting for medicinal purposes and habitat loss. The national assessment is downgraded to VU as there are healthy subpopulations in southern Mozambique. |
Distribution | Endemism | Not endemic to South Africa | Provincial distribution | KwaZulu-Natal | Range | This species has a wide distribution and stretches from south-eastern Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal. |
Habitat and Ecology | Major system | Terrestrial | Major habitats | Sand Forest, Northern Coastal Forest | Description | Plants occur in lowland dry, evergreen and riverine forest and coastal bushland, at an altitude of up to 700 m. |
Threats | | Past destructive heavy harvesting of the roots for traditional medicine has been reported. Cunningham (1988) estimated that 41 bags (50kg-size) were sold annually by 54 traders in the Durban area. One bag could represent 2000 plants, and the plants were sold in bunches of 10-20 individuals (Cunningham 1988). Cunningham classified the species as 'declining,' indicating that it was recently widespread but likely to become vulnerable and continue to decline if the destruction of wild populations persisted. He further recommended that permanent plots be set up to monitor the status of the population. In 2008, Cunningham also reported seeing large numbers of bags coming into the markets in the 1980s. Williams (2007) reported that it was traded by 22% of muthi shops in 1994. Although it could go unnoticed in the markets, a knowledgeable healer would recognize the plant (N.R. Crouch, pers. comm., 2008).
Schlechterina is slow-growing, and the population density is much lower than that of Synaptolepis kirkii, a species with a similar distribution and equally popular in the medicinal plant trade. It is only found in a few localities and is further impacted by elephants and suni browsing within reserves. The elephants took refuge in the bush clumps where it grew and consumed it if present (N.R. Crouch, pers. Comm., 2008). |
Population | Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Schlechterina mitostemmatoides Harms | VU B1ab(ii,iii,v)+2ab(ii,iii,v) | Raimondo et al. (2009) | | Schlechterina mitostemmatoides Harms | Not Threatened | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | |
Bibliography | Cunningham, A.B. 1988. An investigation of the herbal medicine trade in Natal/KwaZulu. Investigational Report No. 29. Institute of Natural Resources, Pietermaritzburg.
De Wilde, W.J.J.O. 1976. Passifloraceae. In: J.H. Ross (ed). Flora of southern Africa 22:104-128. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
Hilton-Taylor, C. 1996. Red data list of southern African plants. Strelitzia 4. South African National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
Leistner, O.A. 2005. Seed plants of southern tropical Africa: families and genera - supplement to SEED PLANTS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA (Leistner 2000), covering Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 26. SABONET, Pretoria.
Mucina, L. and Rutherford, M.C. (eds). 2006. The vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Strelitzia 19. 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.
Von Ahlefeldt, D., Crouch, N.R., Nichols, G., Symmonds, R., McKean, S., Sibiya, H. and Cele, M.P. 2003. Medicinal plants traded on South Africa's eastern seabord. Porcupine Press, Durban.
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.
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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. 2023. Schlechterina mitostemmatoides Harms. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/23 |
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