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Scientific Name | Moraea mutila (C.H.Bergius ex Eckl.) Goldblatt & J.C.Manning |
Higher Classification | Monocotyledons |
Family | IRIDACEAE |
Synonyms | Iris tripetala Thunb. (later homonym), not of L.f. (1782), Moraea monophylla Baker, Moraea punctata Baker, Moraea tripetala (L.f.) Ker Gawl. var. mutila (Licht. ex Roem. & Schult.) Baker, Vieusseuxia mutila C.H.Bergius ex Eckl. |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Vulnerable B1ab(iii) |
Assessment Date | 2014/04/14 |
Assessor(s) | L. von Staden |
Justification | EOO 6101 km², this lowland renosterveld endemic continues to decline due to ongoing habitat loss and degradation; more than 80% of its habitat has been lost to crop cultivation and urban expansion. Between six and 12 isolated, severely fragmented subpopulations remain. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Western Cape |
Range | Tulbagh to Piketberg and the Cape Peninsula. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Swartland Shale Renosterveld, Breede Shale Renosterveld, Peninsula Shale Renosterveld, Swartland Granite Renosterveld, Swartland Silcrete Renosterveld, Swartland Alluvium Renosterveld, Breede Shale Fynbos, Swartland Alluvium Fynbos, Breede Alluvium Fynbos |
Description | Clay soils derived from granite and shale. |
Threats |
| Less than 13% of this species' shale renosterveld habitat remains intact. Habitat loss to wheat cultivation is likely to have caused extensive population decline in the past. The effects of fragmentation, degradation, agricultural runoff, alien plant infestations and continuing conversion of renosterveld to crop fields continue to threaten the remaining habitat of this species. On the Cape Peninsula, subpopulations known through historical records have been lost to urban expansion, and it is not certain whether any survive. |
Population |
This species is currently known only from a few historical records, and therefore no data on the population structure are available. Like many other lowland renosterveld species, it was probably common in the past, but is now restricted to small, isolated habitat fragments, where it is suspected to continue to decline due to ongoing habitat loss and degradation.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Notes |
| Moraea mutila was formerly considered as conspecific with the widespread and common Moraea tripetala. Recent taxonomic revision (Goldblatt and Manning 2010, 2012) reinstated the species with a narrow distribution range restricted to lowland renosterveld. Due to the taxonomic situation, this species is poorly known, with few recent collections. Field surveys are required to determine how many subpopulations remain. |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Moraea mutila (C.H.Bergius ex Eckl.) Goldblatt & J.C.Manning | VU B1ab(iii) | 2014.1 | | Moraea punctata Baker | EN B1ab(iii) | 2011.1 | |
Bibliography |
Goldblatt, P. and Manning, J.C. 2010. Moraea intermedia and Moraea vuvuzela (Iridaceae-Iridoideae), two new species fro western South Africa, and some nomenclatural changes and range extensions in the genus. Bothalia 40(2):147-153.
Goldblatt, P. and Manning, J.C. 2012. Systematics of the hypervariable Moraea tripetala complex (Iridaceae: Iridoideae) of the southern African winter rainfall zone. Bothalia 42(2):111-135.
Goldblatt, P. and Manning, J.C. 2020. Iridaceae of southern Africa. Strelitzia 42. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
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Citation |
| von Staden, L. 2014. Moraea mutila (C.H.Bergius ex Eckl.) Goldblatt & J.C.Manning. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/19 |
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