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Scientific Name | Selago zeyheri Choisy |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | SCROPHULARIACEAE |
Synonyms | Walafrida zeyheri (Choisy) Rolfe, excluding much of description and Zeyher 769 (in part), Walafrida zuurbergensis Rolfe |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Vulnerable B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v) |
Assessment Date | 2016/10/03 |
Assessor(s) | L. von Staden |
Justification | A rare, range-restricted species (EOO 601 km²), known from fewer than 10 locations and declining due to ongoing habitat loss and degradation. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Eastern Cape |
Range | Port Elizabeth to the Suurberge. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Albany Alluvial Vegetation, Koedoeskloof Karroid Thicket, Grass Ridge Bontveld |
Description | Dry stony flats and lower slopes in grassy vegetation. |
Threats |
| This species is threatened by ongoing habitat loss to urban and industrial expansion around Coega east of Port Elizabeth. Further inland along the Sundays River it is threatened by habitat loss to agricultural expansion and habitat degradation due to overgrazing. |
Population |
Most collections of this species are from a small area between the Swartkops and Sundays rivers, on the coastal plains to the east of Port Elizabeth, an area undergoing rapid urban and industrial expansion. Hilliard (1999) remarked on the scarcity of recent collections, and expressed concern that the species may be becoming scarce due to habitat loss and degradation. There are still very few collections, with only one recent collection, dating from 2011, from somewhat further inland along the Sundays River floodplain. There is only one collection from the base of the Suurberg, dating from 1899, which suggests that it may occur further inland, but is possibly overlooked in these areas. Field surveys are needed to gain a better understanding of the population size and structure, but ongoing population decline is inferred from ongoing habitat loss.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Selago zeyheri Choisy | VU B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v) | 2017.1 | | Selago zeyheri Choisy | Threatened | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
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.
Hilliard, O.M. 1999. The tribe Selagineae (Scrophulariaceae). Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh/Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh/Kew.
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.
Rolfe, R.A. 1901. Selagineae. In: W.T. Thiselton-Dyer (ed). Flora Capensis V Section I (Acanthaceae-Proteaceae):95-180. Lovell Reeve & Co., Ltd., London.
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Citation |
| von Staden, L. 2016. Selago zeyheri Choisy. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/04/14 |
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