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Scientific Name | Thesium polygaloides A.W.Hill |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | SANTALACEAE |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Vulnerable B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v) |
Assessment Date | 2016/11/16 |
Assessor(s) | L. von Staden |
Justification | A range-restricted species with an EOO of 7183 km², and known from seven locations. It continues to decline due to ongoing habitat loss and degradation. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | KwaZulu-Natal |
Range | Maputaland coastal plain to Durban. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Belt Grassland, Maputaland Wooded Grassland, Maputaland Coastal Belt |
Description | Swamps on coastal flats. |
Threats |
| Plants at the type locality is now locally extinct due to habitat loss to urban expansion. In northern KwaZulu-Natal, it has lost a large proportion of its habitat to timber plantations. Small fragments remain outside protected areas, and these are degraded due to spreading alien invasive plants, and inappropriate fire management. In some areas, timber plantations have lowered the water table, causing wetland areas to dry up. Overgrazing, subsistence agriculture, and spreading rural settlements are causing ongoing habitat loss in areas outside protected areas. This species has not been recorded in the area between Durban and Mtunzini, but in this area, more than 90% of coastal grasslands have been converted to sugarcane plantations, and therefore little chance remains that any subpopulations are likely to survive in these areas. |
Population |
This species was originally described from Clairwood in Durban (Hill 1915), where it is now locally extinct due to habitat loss to urban expansion. Recent collections are from wetlands on the coastal plain of northern KwaZulu-Natal. It is not certain whether these collections represent the same taxon or a different taxon. The genus Thesium is in need of revision, and species are difficult to identify with certainty. If T. polygaloides is restricted to the Durban area, it is likely to be extinct. If it is more widespread along the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, it is still extant, but declining due to ongoing habitat loss and degradation across its range.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Thesium polygaloides A.W.Hill | VU D2 | Raimondo et al. (2009) | | Thesium polygaloides A.W.Hill | Extinct | Scott-Shaw (1999) | | Thesium polygaloides A.W.Hill | Extinct | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | |
Bibliography |
Hill, A.W. 1915. The Genus Thesium in South Africa, with a key and descriptions of new species. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) 1915(1):1-43.
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.
Scott-Shaw, C.R. 1999. Rare and threatened plants of KwaZulu-Natal and neighbouring regions. KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service, Pietermaritzburg.
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Citation |
| von Staden, L. 2016. Thesium polygaloides A.W.Hill. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/09 |
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