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Scientific Name | Erica paludicola L.Bolus |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | ERICACEAE |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Vulnerable A2ac; D2 |
Assessment Date | 2007/02/09 |
Assessor(s) | R.C. Turner & E.G.H. Oliver |
Justification | Known from two locations. Notes on early collections from Silvermine indicate that subpopulation there was large, but it is now numbering fewer than 150 plants. Road construction, invasion by alien species, polluted road run-off and fires in 2000 have caused at least a 30% reduction in the population over the past three generations (30 years). This species remains potentially threatened by infrastructure development, pollution from road run-off and further alien plant invasion. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Western Cape |
Range | Cape Peninsula, Noordhoek Peak to Silvermine Valley. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos |
Description | Peaty soil with quartzitic sand in seepage areas associated with mountain streams, and also on damp, vertical rock faces. |
Threats |
| Declined in the past due to habitat loss and degradation as a result of alien plant invasion, infrastructure development, too frequent, hot fires and pollution. Alien plants have been cleared, but reinvasion remains a threat if new emerging seedlings are not continually managed. |
Population |
Many older collections from the Silvermine Valley indicate that the species was formerly abundant in this area, but this subpopulation has declined to fewer than 150 plants (R.C. Turner pers. obs. 2007). A second subpopulation occurs on Noordhoek Peak, and it is estimated that the population has declined in total by at least 30% in the past 30 years.
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Population trend | Stable |
Conservation |
| Protected in the Silvermine section of the Table Mountain National Park. |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Erica paludicola L.Bolus | VU A2ac; D2 | Raimondo et al. (2009) | | Erica paludicola L.Bolus | Vulnerable | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | | Erica paludicola L.Bolus | 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.
Helme, N.A. and Trinder-Smith, T.H. 2006. The endemic flora of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 72(2):205-210.
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.
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Citation |
| Turner, R.C. & Oliver, E.G.H. 2007. Erica paludicola L.Bolus. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/04/14 |
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