|
Scientific Name | Oxalis levis T.M.Salter |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | OXALIDACEAE |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Critically Endangered B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) |
Assessment Date | 2011/06/20 |
Assessor(s) | K.C. Oberlander, I. Ebrahim, R. Koopman & D. Raimondo |
Justification | This species was previously only known from Salter's 1933 type collection from near Mamre Station. This area is currently densely invaded by alien plants, and searches between 2000 and 2008 had failed to locate individuals of this species, and it was thought to be extinct.
Researchers from the University of Stellenbosch and volunteers from the Custodians of the Rare and Endangered Wildflowers (CREW) Programme have subsequently discovered an extant subpopulation at Riverlands Nature Reserve in 2011. The subpopulation is small, consisting of only 300 mature individuals and is threatened by ongoing degradation of its habitat due to invasive alien plants. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Western Cape |
Range | Malmesbury. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Atlantis Sand Fynbos |
Description | Seasonally wet white clay sometimes overlaid by sands. |
Threats |
| Dense infestations by alien plants have probably caused the local extinction of plants at the type locality. The only known remaining subpopulation of this species occurs within a small nature reserve where alien plants have been cleared. The reserve is surrounded by dense alien acacia infestations, and significant soil-stored alien seedbanks remain within the reserve. Ongoing management and clearance of alien plants is required to prevent the extinction of this species. |
Population |
Known from one remaining subpopulation of 300 mature individuals.
|
Population trend | Decreasing |
Conservation |
| Riverlands Nature Reserve. |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Oxalis levis T.M.Salter | Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) | Raimondo et al. (2009) | | Oxalis levis T.M.Salter | Vulnerable | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | | Oxalis levis T.M.Salter | Vulnerable | Hall et al. (1980) | |
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.
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.
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.
Salter, T.M. 1944. The genus Oxalis in South Africa: a taxonomic revision. Journal of South African Botany Supplement 1:1-355.
|
Citation |
| Oberlander, K.C., Ebrahim, I., Koopman, R. & Raimondo, D. 2011. Oxalis levis T.M.Salter. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/04/14 |
Comment on this assessment
