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Scientific Name | Babiana virescens Goldblatt & J.C.Manning |
Higher Classification | Monocotyledons |
Family | IRIDACEAE |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Vulnerable B1ab(ii,iii)+2ab(ii,iii) |
Assessment Date | 2022/08/30 |
Assessor(s) | H. Mtshali, D. van der Colff & L. von Staden |
Justification | This Cape endemic has an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 3870 km², and an area of occupancy (AOO) of 44 km². It occurs at less than 10 locations and it is declining in parts of its range due to habitat loss to crop cultivation, prospecting and mining. It is therefore listed as Vulnerable under criterion B. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Northern Cape, Western Cape |
Range | It is restricted to southern Namaqualand in Northern and Western Cape provinces, South Africa, between Nuwerus and Bitterfontein. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Namaqualand Coastal Duneveld, Namaqualand Heuweltjieveld, Namaqualand Sand Fynbos |
Description | It occurs on gently sloping granite hills and valley bottoms in gravelly ground in open succulent karroid shrubland. |
Threats |
| Coastal subpopulations are threatened by habitat loss to mining - one collection is from the edge of an existing mining site, while another is from an area where 30 000 ha of coastal strandveld has been earmarked for future mining expansion (N.A. Helme, pers. comm.). Two collections are from sites close to crop fields. The area where this species occurs is only marginally suited to crop cultivation, and there is no rapid ongoing expansion of crop fields, although sporadic establishment of new crop fields may still occur. Overall, less than 20% of this species' habitat is currently irreversibly modified. |
Population |
This species is known from only a few scattered collections over a relatively large, and botanically still poorly explored area, where the natural vegetation is mostly still intact. It is not very habitat specific, and therefore it is highly likely to be more common than records indicate. Subpopulations at Brand se Baai, in a new coastal area where prospecting license has been approved, are under immediate threat (N.A. Helme, pers. comm. 2022). As mining pressure is increasing, subpopulations are becoming more threatened, and more surveys and monitoring are needed, so as to prevent it from danger of becoming extinct.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Babiana virescens Goldblatt & J.C.Manning | NT B1ab(ii,iii) | 2015.1 | |
Bibliography |
Goldblatt, P. and Manning, J.C. 2007. A revision of the southern African genus Babiana, Iridaceae, Crocoideae. Strelitzia 18:1-97. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
Goldblatt, P. and Manning, J.C. 2020. Iridaceae of southern Africa. Strelitzia 42. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
Goldblatt, P., Manning, J.C. and Gereau, R. 2008. Two new species of Babiana (Iridaceae: Crocoideae) from western South Africa, new names for B. longiflora and B. thunbergii, and comments on the original publication of the genus. Bothalia 38(1):49-55.
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Citation |
| Mtshali, H., van der Colff, D. & von Staden, L. 2022. Babiana virescens Goldblatt & J.C.Manning. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/04/13 |
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