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Scientific Name | Orothamnus zeyheri Pappe ex Hook.f. |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | PROTEACEAE |
Common Names | Marsh Rose (e), Mountain Rose (e), Vleiroos (a) |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Vulnerable B1ab(iii,v)+2ab(iii,v) |
Assessment Date | 2019/02/01 |
Assessor(s) | A.G. Rebelo, M. Johns, D. Raimondo & H. Mtshali |
Justification | This is a unique species of Proteaceae endemic to two mountain ranges in the Cape Floral Region of South Africa. It has an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 196 km², and area of occupancy (AOO) of 23 km². While extreme fire-related population fluctuations have been observed in six small, severely fragmented subpopulations, this species does not qualify for population fluctuations against the IUCN Red List Guidelines as it has long lived soil stored seed banks allowing the population to persist even when fire conditions are not suitable. Wild flower harvesting and too infrequent fire caused extensive past population declines and inappropriate fire management, susceptibility to Phytophthora infection and damage by baboons and vlei rats are causing a continuing decline. Subpopulation size can vary between 10 and 1000 individuals, and the total population never exceeds more than a few thousand mature individuals, and can be as low as a few hundred. With a slow population decline taking place this species qualifies for listing as Vulnerable under criterion B. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Western Cape |
Range | This species occurs in the Kogelberg Nature Reserve and in Kleinrivier Mountains in Western Cape Province of South Africa. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos |
Description | It is restricted to peaty seeps and swamps in montane sandstone fynbos, 450-850 m. Mature individuals are killed by fires, and only seeds survive. Seeds are released after ripening, and dispersed by ants to their underground nests, where they are protected from predation and fire. It is pollinated by insects. This is a fire ephemeral, coming up in large numbers after a fire, but with high adult mortality, so that by 15 years up to half the plants may have seeded and died, and by 25 years only a few 4-5 m tall, single stemmed plants remain. This mortality is attributed to Phytophthora root rot fungus, predation by the Vlei Rat, and natural mortality. |
Threats |
| This species' habitat is continuously being degraded by inappropriate fire management, both too-infrequent and too frequent fires. Plants are also highly susceptible to the Phytophthora fungus, which causes root rot and death of plants. Efforts to manage subpopulations by planting seedlings and even monitoring efforts have often resulted in Phytophthora infections having a damaging effect. Other threats affecting this species include historical harvesting of flowers with the Kleinrivier subpopulation almost going extinct as a result of flower harvesting; trampling by hikers; predation of seed bank by baboons and Otomys Vlei Rat breaking off/chewing stems to get to flower or seed-heads. |
Population |
This species has a few extremely isolated dense stands, and subpopulations are small in size. As a fire ephemeral, it comes up in large numbers after a fire, but has high adult mortality of adults from 10 years onwards following fire. This widely-fluctuating cycle, with occasional skipping of generations by remaining dormant as seeds, complicates monitoring of populations. However despite this, monitoring data collected over the past 50 years shows that there has been a slow decline in the number of mature individuals at the five subpopulations occurring in the Kogelberg. Furthermore the subpopulation from the Kleinrivier Mountains was decimated by flower-pickers and too frequent fires by 1938. It was present in 1965, but whether these were local stock or exclusively from plants introduced from Kogelberg is unknown. The population was augmented by planting seedlings in the 1980s, and was intensively managed (manually pollinated) during the 1960s and 1970s (Hall 1982). In 1968 there were 24 plants before a fire in the same year. In 1974 someone dug up a plant from the colony and all the remaining plants summarily died from Phytophthora Root Rot. Through re-seeding and planting out seedlings about 76 plants were established by 1983. There were 25 plants in 1999, but 11 and nine in January and September 2002. The subpopulation is still extant at between 10 and 20 plants in 2020.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Conservation |
| It is present in the Kogelberg and Maanschynkop Nature Reserves. |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Orothamnus zeyheri Pappe ex Hook.f. | VU B1ab(ii,iv,v)c(iv)+2ab(ii,iv,v)c(iv); C2a(i)b | Raimondo et al. (2009) | | Orothamnus zeyheri Pappe ex Hook.f. | Rare | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | | Orothamnus zeyheri Pappe ex Hook.f. | Endangered | Hall et al. (1980) | |
Bibliography |
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., 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.
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.
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., Johns, M., Raimondo, D. & Mtshali, H. 2019. Orothamnus zeyheri Pappe ex Hook.f. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/12 |
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