Pan Crinum

Taxonomy
Scientific Name
Crinum paludosum I.Verd.
Higher Classification
Monocotyledons
Family
AMARYLLIDACEAE
Synonyms
Crinum forbesii (Lindl.) Schult. & J.H.Schult. (in part)
Common Names
Pan Crinum (e)
National Status
Status and Criteria
Least Concern
Assessment Date
2017/05/23
Assessor(s)
V.L. Williams & H. Mtshali
Justification
Crinum paludosum is a widespread, long-lived species that is suspected to be declining due to over-exploitation, but is still relatively common in the wild. It does not yet meet any criteria thresholds indicating high risk of extinction, and is therefore assessed as Least Concern.
Distribution
Endemism
Not endemic to South Africa
Provincial distribution
Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West
Range
This species has a wide, but disjunct distribution. It occurs in northern Zululand and the Maputaland region, KwaZulu-Natal. In Limpopo, it occurs between Mookgopong and the Swartruggens Mountains. It also occurs in Namibia, Botswana and eSwatini (Swaziland).
Habitat and Ecology
Major system
Freshwater
Major habitats
Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, Savanna
Description
It occurs on the margins of pans and vleis and along seasonal streams.
Threats
Crinum species are threatened by harvesting for the medicinal plant trade. It is difficult to tell the species apart without flowering material, and the users and market traders do not distinguish between the species, hence they are all considered at risk of over-exploitation. The species most commonly found in the markets are Crinum bulbispermum, C. stuhlmannii, C. macowanii and C. moorei - the latter species being the most vulnerable due to its smaller distribution and possibly the most distinctive because of the neck that forms a false stem (Verdoorn 1973). Cunningham (1988) estimated that 122 bags of Crinum spp. (excluding C. bulbispermum) were sold between 54 traders in the Durban markets. Its vulnerability status was classed as 'indeterminate' i.e. it appears to be heavily exploited, but its vulnerability to harvesting is unknown and more data are required (Cunningham 1988). Williams (2007) recorded that the species occurred in 28% of muthi shops in Johannesburg in 1994, and was sold by 9% of the traders at the Faraday Street muthi market. The bulbs are usually very large (usually >10cm diameter) and very heavy, and are sold in moderate quantities throughout the market.
Population
Population trend
Decreasing
Assessment History
Taxon assessed
Status and Criteria
Citation/Red List version
Crinum paludosum I.Verd.Least Concern Raimondo et al. (2009)
Bibliography

Cook, C.D.K. 2004. Aquatic and wetland plants of southern Africa. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands.


Cunningham, A.B. 1988. An investigation of the herbal medicine trade in Natal/KwaZulu. Investigational Report No. 29. Institute of Natural Resources, Pietermaritzburg.


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.


Verdoorn, I.C. 1973. The genus Crinum in Southern Africa. Bothalia 11:27-52.


Williams, V.L. 2007. The design of a risk assessment model to determine the impact of the herbal medicine trade on the Witwatersrand on resources of indigenous plant species. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.


Zimudzi, C., Archer, R.H., Kwembeya, E.G. and Nordal, I. 2008. Amaryllidaceae. In: J.R. Timberlake and E.S. Martins (eds). Flora Zambesiaca 13 (Part 1):97-134. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.


Citation
Williams, V.L. & Mtshali, H. 2017. Crinum paludosum I.Verd. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/10

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Distribution map


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