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Scientific Name | Steirodiscus capillaceus (Thunb.) Less. |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | ASTERACEAE |
Synonyms | Cineraria capillacea Thunb., Psilothonna capillacea (Thunb.) E.Phillips, Steirodiscus linearilobus in the sense of Hutchinson (1946), not of DC. (misapplied name) |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Least Concern |
Assessment Date | 2015/09/20 |
Assessor(s) | L. von Staden |
Justification | A widespread (EOO 24 000 km²), but rarely recorded species that is likely to be overlooked. Although it has declined extensively in the western and northern parts of its range, it does not yet meet any criteria indicating high risk of extinction. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Northern Cape, Western Cape |
Range | Bokkeveld Escarpment to the northern Cederberg and Klein Roggeveld, as well as the area between Hopefield and Piekenierskloof Pass. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Fynbos, Succulent Karoo |
Description | Sandy loam soils in renosterveld. |
Threats |
| Threatened by severe past, and ongoing habitat loss to crop cultivation in the northern and western parts of its range. Eastern subpopulations occur in an area only marginally suited to crop cultivation, and is unlikely to be threatened by habitat loss. Much of the renosterveld in this area is however degraded due to overgrazing, but recent field observations indicate that this species is still fairly common in spite of grazing, and may be somewhat resilient to disturbance. |
Population |
A widespread, but rarely recorded species, known from a few, scattered subpopulations. It has not been recorded from the Hopefield-Piketberg-Piekenierskloof Pass area as well as the Bokkeveld Escarpment in more than 60 years, and it may already be locally extinct in this area due to habitat loss to crop cultivation (Manning et al. 2012). This may represent as much as 50% of this species' population, but decline has occurred over a period longer than three generations (S. capillaceus is an annual herb). It is still fairly common in the Klein Roggeveld, and it is also possibly more common in the northern and eastern Cederberg, where its habitat remains botanically still relatively poorly explored. It is known from fewer than 10 remaining locations, but more field surveys in poorly explored areas may reveal more. The population is not suspected to number fewer than 10 000 mature individuals.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Steirodiscus capillaceus (Thunb.) Less. | Least Concern | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
Bibliography |
Goldblatt, P. and Manning, J.C. 2000. Cape Plants: A conspectus of the Cape Flora of South Africa. Strelitzia 9. National Botanical Institute, Cape Town.
Hutchinson, J. 1946. A Botanist in Southern Africa. Gawthorn, London.
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.
Manning, J.C., Goldblatt, P. and Joubert, L. 2013. A taxonomic revision of the small Cape genus Steirodiscus (Asteraceae: Senecioneae). Bothalia 43(1):109-119.
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. 2015. Steirodiscus capillaceus (Thunb.) Less. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/09 |
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