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Scientific Name | Ledebouria galpinii (Baker) S.Venter & T.J.Edwards |
Higher Classification | Monocotyledons |
Family | HYACINTHACEAE |
Synonyms | Scilla galpinii Baker |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Endangered B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) |
Assessment Date | 2008/07/10 |
Assessor(s) | A.J. Hankey, M. Lötter, J.E. Burrows & L. von Staden |
Justification | EOO 15 km², AOO <5 km², known from three locations around the town of Kaapsehoop. Various factors have led to the species now only occupying rocky refugia, which is not its preferred habitat. Likely to have lost habitat to afforestation, and road and housing development. Experiencing an ongoing degradation of its habitat due to a deleterious fire regime, trampling by wild horses and alien plant invasion. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Mpumalanga |
Range | Kaapsehoop. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Northern Escarpment Quartzite Sourveld |
Description | Short, damp, montane mistbelt grassland on sandy, humus-rich black reef quartzite soil, 1700 m. |
Threats |
| Ledebouria galpinii requires open, exposed situations to flower well. Winter grass fires used to clear the habitat and allow for successful flowering and recruitment. However, tourism/holiday residential developments that have been constructed around the largest colonies have led to the area being burnt less and less owing to the danger to residents' properties. Invasive kikuyu, dispersed by a herd of feral horses, has completely overrun the habitat and plants are now smothered in dense moribund grasses. Poor flowering and recruitment has been observed in these colonies and the plants will probably cease flowering altogether.
Further away from the residential area, smaller colonies are also being overrun by kikuyu and trampled by the herd of feral horses. Small seedlings have been seen killed by the trampling and in these areas the plants are now restricted to limited rocky refugia where the grass cover is not as dense and trampling not as severe. However, this is not the preferred habitat of this species and recruitment is very poor.
If the present adverse pressures continue to operate on the population, this species is likely to be extinct within the next two decades. (Craib and Hankey 1998). |
Population |
Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Ledebouria galpinii (Baker) S.Venter | EN B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
Bibliography |
Baker, J.G. 1896. Amaryllideae. In: W.T. Thiselton-Dyer (ed). Flora Capensis VI (Haemodoraceae to Liliaceae):171-246. L. Reeve & Co., London.
Craib, C. 1998. Ledebouria galpinii Venter, a rare mountain top mist-belt species. Herbertia 53:54-58.
Edwards, T.J. and Venter, S. 2003. A revision of Ledebouria (Hyacinthaceae) in South Africa. 3. The re-instatement of L. ensifolia, L. galpinii and L. sandersonii. Bothalia 33(1):49-51.
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 |
| Hankey, A.J., Lötter, M., Burrows, J.E. & von Staden, L. 2008. Ledebouria galpinii (Baker) S.Venter & T.J.Edwards. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/03 |
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