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Scientific Name | Leucadendron floridum R.Br. |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | PROTEACEAE |
Common Names | Flats Conebush (e) |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Endangered B1ab(iii,v)+2ab(iii,v) |
Assessment Date | 2020/05/25 |
Assessor(s) | A.G. Rebelo, H. Mtshali & L. von Staden |
Justification | This species has a very restricted range on the Cape Peninsula. It has lost 69% of its former range to urban development and crop cultivation and remains at two locations within an extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO) of 24 km². It continues to decline due to wild flower harvesting, inappropriate fire management and habitat degradation as a result of alien invasive plant spread. Therefore it is listed as Endangered under criterion B. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Western Cape |
Range | It is limited to the Cape Peninsula, in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos, Hangklip Sand Fynbos, Cape Flats Sand Fynbos |
Description | Currently this species is largely confined to Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos in permanently moist to seasonally wet, peaty sands, often along rivers and at the edges of vleis. Mature individuals are killed by fires, and only seeds survive. Seeds are released after ripening, and are stored in surface leaf-litter. It is dioecious, with insect-pollinated male and female flowers occurring on separate plants. |
Threats |
| About 69% of its habitat has been lost to urbanization and crop cultivation. There is ongoing habitat loss of about 12% recorded between 1990 and 2014, but the remaining subpopulations are in a protected area so habitat loss has now ceased. They are threatened by illegal wild flower harvesting, incorrect fire regimes and degradation of habitat by alien invasive plants, particularly Acacia, Eucalyptus and Leptospermum species. As a reseeder, it is likely to decline and disappear in areas that are repeatedly burnt before plants reach reproductive maturity. |
Population |
The largest of the two extant subpopulations survives in the Cape of Good Hope section of the Table Mountain National Park, where several thousand plants occur along a 4 km stretch of the Schusters River. The second subpopulation occurs at Bokramspruit within the Slangkop Protected Nature Area of the Table Mountain National Park. The population is declining due to habitat degradation.
L. floridum is originally known from a 50 km long range from Olifantsbos to Kuilsrivier, it is now only extant in the southern Peninsula. Ploughing of its wetland habitat, alien invasive and subsequent urbanization resulted in its extinction on the Cape Flats by the 1970s. Although the dates of extirpation are unknown, these are assumed to be post WWII. Few other subpopulations have been recorded, but they were planted and therefore not used for the purpose of this assessment. These include subpopulations on Smith farm on the south Peninsula, Alexandra Reservoir in Tokai and Rondevlei.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Conservation |
| The largest subpopulation is within the Cape of Good Hope section of the Table Mountain National Park. The Bokramspruit subpopulation is within the Slangkop Protected Nature Area of the Table Mountain National Park. |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Leucadendron floridum R.Br. | CR A2c | Raimondo et al. (2009) | | Leucadendron floridum R.Br. | Endangered | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | | Leucadendron floridum R.Br. | Endangered | Hall et al. (1980) | |
Bibliography |
Fraser, M. and Fraser, L. 1990. Flats Conebush Leucadendron floridum, an endangered species, discovered in Claremont. Protea Atlas Newsletter 9:6.
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.
Hall, A.V. 1982. Rare plants Gazette No 1. February 1982. Bolus Herbarium, University of Cape Town.
Hall, A.V., De Winter, M., De Winter, B. and Van Oosterhout, S.A.M. 1980. Threatened plants of southern Africa. South African National Scienctific Programmes Report 45. CSIR, Pretoria.
Helme, N.A. and Trinder-Smith, T.H. 2006. The endemic flora of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 72(2):205-210.
Hilton-Taylor, C. 1996. Red data list of southern African plants. Strelitzia 4. South African National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
Manning, J.C. and Goldblatt, P. 2012. Plants of the Greater Cape Floristic Region 1: The Core Cape Flora. Strelitzia 29. South African National Biodiversity 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.
Rebelo, T. 2001. Sasol Proteas: A field guide to the proteas of southern Africa. (2nd ed.). Fernwood Press, Vlaeberg, Cape Town.
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Citation |
| Rebelo, A.G., Mtshali, H. & von Staden, L. 2020. Leucadendron floridum R.Br. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/01/17 |
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