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Scientific Name | Stomatium viride L.Bolus |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | AIZOACEAE |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Least Concern |
Assessment Date | 2019/11/03 |
Assessor(s) | D. Raimondo |
Justification | Stomatium viride is a Karoo endemic, with an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 12 090 km². It is known from five widely spread localities but is highly likely to be severely undercollected, there are no significant threats to this species and it is therefore listed as Least Concern. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Eastern Cape, Western Cape |
Range | This species is endemic to South Africa and is found from Beaufort West to Steynsburg. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Upper Karoo Hardeveld, Gamka Karoo, Besemkaree Koppies Shrubland, Karoo Escarpment Grassland, Southern Karoo Riviere |
Description | It occurs in gravelly flats and pans. |
Threats |
| Its habitat is still mostly intact. It is possibly threatened by overgrazing, but field surveys are needed to confirm this.
Large-scale shale gas fracking was proposed in 2015 for the Karoo basin covering the majority of this species' range. Subpopulations on flats would be most vulnerable to habitat loss to infrastructure development related to fracking, and this species could decline in future if fracking goes ahead. A Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment submitted to South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs in 2016 cautioned against moving ahead with Shale Gas fracking based on the very high infrastructure costs associated with fracking as well as multiple secondary negative impacts both to biodiversity and other economic activities in the region. Furthermore geological studies that have taken place since 2016 have found that gas deposits are not as substantial as original suspected due to the very old age of the Karoo shale formations and the fact that the extensive number of dolerite intrusions throughout the Karoo have resulted in much of the gas being lost. At present, future development scenarios are too uncertain to estimate the potential extent of the impact on the population but it is unlikely that shale gas fracking will proceed in the near future. |
Population |
No information on subpopulation size can be inferred from herbarium collections as no specimens include abundance notes. Originally recorded only from Beaufort West, this species' known range has been significantly expanded to the east where it was found in a number of mountains in the Steynsburg area during the Great Escarpment Biodiversity Survey.
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Population trend | Stable |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Stomatium viride L.Bolus | Least Concern | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
Bibliography |
Magee, A.R. and Boatwright, J.S. (eds). In prep. Plants of the Karoo: A Conspectus of the Nama-Karoo and Adjacent Summer-Rainfall Regions of the Northern and Western Cape Provinces. Strelitzia.
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.
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Citation |
| Raimondo, D. 2019. Stomatium viride L.Bolus. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/04/14 |
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