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Scientific Name | Mystacidium aliceae Bolus |
Higher Classification | Monocotyledons |
Family | ORCHIDACEAE |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Vulnerable D2 |
Assessment Date | 2006/11/07 |
Assessor(s) | L. von Staden & J.E. Victor |
Justification | Two to three locations are known, but this species is probably locally extinct at one location in KwaZulu-Natal that has been extensively transformed by sugarcane plantations. Potentially threatened in the Eastern Cape by clearing of forests for subsistence agriculture and habitat degradation as a result of collecting of wood for fuel. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal |
Range | Coastal forests of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Northern Coastal Forest, Southern Coastal Forest, Scarp Forest |
Description | Occurs in thick scrub in hilly regions as a low-level epiphyte in shady conditions. |
Threats |
| One locality in area extensively transformed by sugarcane plantations, unknown if still extant. Potentially threatened at Kentani, by rural farming practices: clearing forests for agriculture, and collecting wood for fuel (mainly past, and potentially in future). |
Population |
Population trend | Stable |
Notes |
| May easily be overlooked — this is an epiphyte with very small white flowers, and may be more common than collections indicate. Flowering from November to March. The taxonomy of the genus is generally quite problematic, based on flowering time rather than morphological distinctions, although M. aliceae is one of the better defined taxa (Linder and Kurzweil 1999). |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Mystacidium aliceae Bolus | VU D2 | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
Bibliography |
Linder, H.P. and Kurzweil, H. 1999. Orchids of southern Africa. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam.
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 |
| von Staden, L. & Victor, J.E. 2006. Mystacidium aliceae Bolus. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/01/20 |
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