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Scientific Name | Aspalathus cliffortiifolia R.Dahlgren |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | FABACEAE |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Critically Endangered B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) |
Assessment Date | 2011/05/31 |
Assessor(s) | D. Raimondo, I. Ebrahim & C. Weatherall-Thomas |
Justification | Previously only known from the type specimen collected in Humewood in 1911 which is now a suburb of Port Elizabeth. This species was listed as possibly extinct on the Red List of South African Plants (Raimondo et al. 2009). It was rediscovered by volunteers of the Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers programme (CREW) in 2010 in two fragments of remnant coastal fynbos, one within the city of Port Elizabeth and the second just south of the city. Both remaining subpopulations are declining due to ongoing habitat degradation as a result of alien plant invasions and one subpopulation is severely threatened by further urban development. EOO and AOO <10 km², subpopulations are severely fragmented. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Eastern Cape |
Range | Port Elizabeth. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Algoa Sandstone Fynbos, St Francis Dune Thicket |
Description | Coastal fynbos. |
Threats |
Urban expansion around the city of Port Elizabeth is a past and ongoing threat, with one of the two known extant subpopulations under development pressure. Both remaining subpopulations are also threatened by competition from invasive alien plants. |
Population |
Two recently discovered subpopulations consist of between 60 and 90 mature individuals each, both were found on small, isolated fragments/road reserves.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Conservation |
Not recorded from any formally protected areas. |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | Aspalathus cliffortiifolia R.Dahlgren | Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) | Raimondo et al. (2009) | Aspalathus cliffortiifolia R.Dahlgren | Endangered | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | |
Bibliography |
Dahlgren, R. 1988. Crotalarieae (Aspalathus). In: O.A. Leistner (ed). Flora of southern Africa 16 Fabaceae, Part 3 Papilionoideae, Fascicle 6:1-430. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
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.
Hilton-Taylor, C. 1996. Red data list of southern African plants. Strelitzia 4. South African National Botanical 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 |
Raimondo, D., Ebrahim, I. & Weatherall-Thomas, C. 2011. Aspalathus cliffortiifolia R.Dahlgren. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2024/11/09 |