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Scientific Name | Silene burchellii Otth subsp. burchellii |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | CARYOPHYLLACEAE |
Synonyms | Silene thunbergiana Eckl. & Zeyh. ex Sond. |
Common Names | Gunpowder Plant (e), Ho-batla (ss), Igwayintombi Elincane (z), Injuju (z), Iyeza Lehashe (x), Kopane (ss), Kruitbossie (a), Lithokoano (ss), Motebane (ss), Umthusi (z) |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Near Threatened B1ab(iii,v) |
Assessment Date | 2014/05/09 |
Assessor(s) | L. von Staden |
Justification | EOO 9200 km², an estimated 10 to 15 locations continue to decline due to ongoing habitat loss and competition from alien invasive plants. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Western Cape |
Range | Darling to the Cape Peninsula and Agulhas Plain. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Overberg Dune Strandveld, Swartland Shale Renosterveld, Peninsula Shale Renosterveld, Agulhas Limestone Fynbos, Peninsula Shale Fynbos, Peninsula Granite Fynbos, Hangklip Sand Fynbos |
Description | Shale or loamy soils in renosterveld, as well as sandstone and limestone fynbos. |
Threats |
| This species was last recorded in the Darling area in 1905, and is likely to have declined due to habitat loss to crop cultivation. Small remaining renosterveld fragments need to be surveyed to determine if any subpopulations survive. Between the Cape Peninsula and the Tygerberg Hills, it has declined in the past, and continues to decline due to habitat loss to urban expansion. Along the coast between Hangklip and the Agulhas Plain, habitat loss to coastal development continues, and subpopulations are being outcompeted by unmanaged alien invasive plants. |
Population |
This subspecies is rarely collected and poorly known. Most records are from the Cape Peninsula, but all are than 50 years old, and locality descriptions are often not precise enough to determine whether the subpopulation is likely to survive or not. Surveys are needed to determine the size and extent of the remaining population.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Silene burchellii Otth subsp. burchellii | NT B1ab(iii,v) | 2014.1 | | Silene thunbergiana Eckl. & Zeyh. ex Sond. | Data Deficient (Taxonomically Problematic) | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
Bibliography |
Manning, J.C. and Goldblatt, P. 2012. A taxonomic revision of the southern African native and naturalized species of Silene L. (Caryophyllaceae). Bothalia 42(2):147-186.
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. 2014. Silene burchellii Otth subsp. burchellii. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/22 |
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