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Scientific Name | Encephalartos lebomboensis I.Verd. |
Higher Classification | Gymnosperms |
Family | ZAMIACEAE |
Synonyms | Encephalartos sp.nov. 'Piet Retiefii' |
Common Names | Broodboom (a), Cycad (e), Piet Retief Cycad (e), Piet Retief-broodboom (a) |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Endangered A2acd; B1ab(ii,iii,v)+2ab(ii,iii,v) |
Assessment Date | 2020/05/19 |
Assessor(s) | J.D. Bösenberg & J.S. Donaldson |
Justification | This is a popular species among collectors and the population has declined substantially (>50%) in the past 90 years. This is less than the three generation time period (210 years), but further extrapolation is difficult and so the decline is treated as the minimum. The subpopulation on Mananga mountain has been particularly affected by collecting. It qualifies as Endangered due the extent of past decline and its narrow distribution range. Pressures on some of the subpopulations due to harvesting plants or plant parts for medicinal purposes as well as due to invasives supports this category. |
Distribution |
Endemism | Not endemic to South Africa |
Provincial distribution | KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga |
Range | This species occurs in the upper reaches of the Pongola and Bivane rivers in northern KwaZulu-Natal province and in the adjacent south-eastern part of Mpumalanga province. Further north, subpopulations are found in the Mananga area of eastern Mpumalanga province, South Africa. Plants are also found in the adjacent area of Mozambique and along the northern parts of the Lebombo mountains of Eswatini. It is recorded to occur at altitudes ranging from 500 to 1,000 m. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Lebombo Summit Sourveld, Southern Lebombo Bushveld, Swaziland Sour Bushveld, Ithala Quartzite Sourveld, Paulpietersburg Moist Grassland |
Description | This species grows in savanna type vegetation. Plants are found on cliffs in rocky ravines, growing in scrub and grassland. |
Threats |
| This Encephalartos species is threatened by poaching for horticultural and traditional medicine purposes, with unconfirmed reports indicating increased harvesting of mature plants for the medicinal plant market, while expanding agricultural activities are threatening the habitat. Invasion by alien plant species such as Lantana camara (Lantana) and Chromolaena odorata (Triffid Weed) is an additional threat (Government Gazette 2016). |
Population |
There are approximately 2,000 plants in the KwaZulu-Natal subpopulations. It is estimated that there are approximately 5,000 plants remaining in the wild, although no recent surveys have been conducted in Mpumalanga or KZN (Government Gazette 2016). Population surveys for this species are in the pipeline (Z. Zondi pers. comm.).
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Conservation |
| Plants are protected in two nature reserves, one in Mpumalanga and the other in Swaziland. |
Notes |
| The exact status of E. lebomboensis depends on how the species is defined. Some sources (P. Hurter) regard only the populations at Mananga and northern Swaziland as true E. lebomboensis, in which case it may qualify as CR. If populations in northern KwaZulu-Natal are included, the species is less threatened. The current assessment is based on the wider distribution. |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Encephalartos lebomboensis I.Verd. | EN A2acd; B1ab(ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(ii,iii,iv,v) | Raimondo et al. (2009) | | Encephalartos lebomboensis I.Verd. | VU B1B2ce | Scott-Shaw (1999) | | Encephalartos lebomboensis I.Verd. | Vulnerable | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | | Encephalartos lebomboensis I.Verd. | Rare | Hall et al. (1980) | |
Bibliography |
Boon, R. 2010. Pooley's Trees of eastern South Africa. Flora and Fauna Publications Trust, Durban.
Donaldson, J.S. 2003. Cycads. Status survey and conservation action plan. IUCN/SSC Cycad Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland; Cambridge, UK.
Grobbelaar, N. 2003. Cycads. With special reference to the southern African species. (2nd ed.). Nat Grobbelaar, Pretoria.
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.
Osborne, R. 1988. Focus on Encephalartos lebomboensis. Encephalartos 15:6-15.
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 |
| Bösenberg, J.D. & Donaldson, J.S. 2020. Encephalartos lebomboensis I.Verd. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/06/28 |
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