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Scientific Name | Eriocaulon mutatum N.E.Br. var. angustisepalum (H.E.Hess) S.M.Phillips |
Higher Classification | Monocotyledons |
Family | ERIOCAULACEAE |
Synonyms | Eriocaulon angustisepalum H.E.Hess |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Data Deficient - Insufficient Information |
Assessment Date | 2020/02/14 |
Assessor(s) | H. Mtshali, F. Cholo & W. Foden |
Justification | This taxon is widespread, but very rare and poorly known. It is likely to be in danger of regional extinction in South Africa, but based on currently available data, its risk of extinction cannot be assessed. |
Distribution |
Endemism | Not endemic to South Africa |
Provincial distribution | Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal |
Range | This taxon is widespread, but rare across southern Africa from Angola and Tanzania to northern and eastern South Africa, where it is known from a few isolated records from around Pretoria and northern KwaZulu-Natal. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Freshwater |
Major habitats | Paulpietersburg Moist Grassland, Rand Highveld Grassland |
Description | It occurs in wet sand, seepage areas or submerged in still or flowing water in grassland. |
Threats |
| In Gauteng it is threatened by ongoing habitat loss and degradation due to urban expansion and infrastructure development that disrupt the natural flow of aquatic ecosystems. It is also threatened by competition from alien invasive plants, and changes in native species dynamics in wetland systems where natural water flow has been disrupted. In KwaZulu-Natal, it occurs in an area extensively transformed and fragmented by commercial timber plantations. Exotic trees used in timber plantations are known to adversely impact natural water tables in aquatic ecosystems and wetlands. It is also likely to be threatened by competition from alien invasive plants, which tend to spread along drainage lines in grassland. |
Population |
This taxon is known from very few records from widely scattered localities, and was last recorded in 1979. Due to a lack of recent field observations nothing is known about its population size and trends. Extensive field urveys are needed.
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Population trend | Unknown |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Eriocaulon mutatum N.E.Br. var. angustisepalum (H.E.Hess) S.M.Phillips | DDD | 2020.1 | | Eriocaulon mutatum N.E.Br. var. angustisepalum (H.E.Hess) S.M.Phillips | Least Concern | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
Bibliography |
Cook, C.D.K. 2004. Aquatic and wetland plants of southern Africa. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Obermeyer, A.A. 1985. Eriocaulaceae. In: O.A. Leistner (ed). Flora of Southern Africa 4 Part 2 Xyridaceae-Juncaceae:9-21. Botanical Research Institute, Pretoria.
Phillips, S.M. 1996. Some new African taxa of Eriocaulon, with notes on their systematic position. Kew Bulletin 51(4):625-647.
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.
Sieben, E.J.J. 2009. The status and distribution of vascular plants (Magnoliophyta, Lycophyta, Pteridophyta). In: W.R.T. Darwall, K.G. Smith, D. Tweddle and P. Skelton (eds.), The status and distribution of freshwater biodiversity in southern Africa (pp. 83-98), IUCN and SAIAB, Gland, Switzerland and Grahamstown, South Africa.
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Citation |
| Mtshali, H., Cholo, F. & Foden, W. 2020. Eriocaulon mutatum N.E.Br. var. angustisepalum (H.E.Hess) S.M.Phillips. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/04/14 |
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