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Scientific Name | Xerophyta rehmannii Behnke |
Higher Classification | Monocotyledons |
Family | VELLOZIACEAE |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Near Threatened B1ab(iii) |
Assessment Date | 2014/05/14 |
Assessor(s) | L. von Staden |
Justification | EOO 8298 km², an estimated 10-15 locations continue to decline due to ongoing habitat loss and degradation, particularly due to urban expansion and mining. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Limpopo, Mpumalanga |
Range | Polokwane and Tzaneen to Roossenekal. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Sekhukhune Mountain Bushveld, Polokwane Plateau Bushveld, Woodbush Granite Grassland, Sekhukhune Montane Grassland |
Description | Crevices on rock sheets and faces. |
Threats |
In Sekhukhune, this species is threatened predominantly by habitat loss to mining - at least one known location is from a mining site - as well as rapid expansion of rural settlements, and habitat degradation due to overgrazing. East of Polokwane, this species is also threatened by habitat loss to rapid urban expansion. At Woodbush and Pilgrim's Rest, the main threat to plant species is habitat loss to timber plantations, but plantations are unlikely to be established in the shallow, rocky soils this species prefers. It is however vulnerable to competition from unmanaged alien invasive plants spreading from surrounding timber plantations onto its habitat. |
Population |
This species is locally frequent in suitable habitat (J.E. Burrows pers. comm.). At the type locality the subpopulation is quite small (20-50 plants), but elsewhere subpopulations consist of several hundred plants.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | Xerophyta rehmannii Behnke | NT B1ab(iii) | 2014.1 | |
Bibliography |
Behnke, H.D., Hummel, E., Hillmer, S., Sauer-Gürth, H., Gonzalez, J. and Wink, M. 2013. A revision of African Velloziaceae based on leaf anatomy characters and rbcL nucleotide sequences. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 172(1):22-94.
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Citation |
von Staden, L. 2014. Xerophyta rehmannii Behnke. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/02/18 |