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Scientific Name | Kniphofia pauciflora Baker |
Higher Classification | Monocotyledons |
Family | ASPHODELACEAE |
Synonyms | Kniphofia pedicellata Baker |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Critically Endangered D |
Assessment Date | 2007/05/15 |
Assessor(s) | C.R. Scott-Shaw, I.M. Johnson & L. von Staden |
Justification | Previously thought to be extinct in the wild. The existence of a small natural population consisting of 18 mature individuals surviving in a grassland fragment amidst the urban expanse of Durban was confirmed recently. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | KwaZulu-Natal |
Range | Durban. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Belt Grassland |
Description | Marshy grassland, 10-200 m. |
Threats |
| Unknown. The population may be suffering from lack of recruitment and other intrinsic factors such as low numbers of individuals. It may be surviving purely by clonal reproduction alone (B. Church pers. comm.). |
Population |
Population trend | Stable |
Conservation |
| Reintroduced populations are conserved in various reserves around Durban. The only existing wild population is, however, not protected. |
Notes |
| Some publications on Kniphofia pauciflora also mention collections made by Strey in 1970 near Richards Bay (Codd 1989, 2005). The identity of these specimens remained uncertain. According to Codd (1989), they appear to be closely related to the Clairmont plants, but cannot be considered true representatives of K. pauciflora, and may be a separate taxon. These specimens were described in 1992 as Kniphofia leucocephala, another critically endangered Kniphofia known from only one extant location (Baijnath 1992). |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Kniphofia pauciflora Baker | CR D | Raimondo et al. (2009) | | Kniphofia pauciflora Baker | Extinct in the Wild | Scott-Shaw (1999) | | Kniphofia pauciflora Baker | Extinct | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | | Kniphofia pauciflora Baker | Endangered | Hall et al. (1980) | |
Bibliography |
Baijnath, H. 1992. Kniphofia leucocephala (Asphodelaceae): a new white-flowered red-hot poker from South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 58(6):482-485.
Codd, L.E. 1989. Kniphofia pauciflora. Flowering Plants of Africa 50(2):t.1995.
Codd, L.E. 2005. Asphodelaceae (First part): Kniphofia. In: G. Germishuizen and B.A. Momberg (eds). Flora of southern Africa 5 Part 1, Fascicle 2:1-91. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
Codd, L.E.W. 1969. The South African species of Kniphofia (Liliaceae). Bothalia 9:363-513.
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.
Scott-Shaw, C.R. 1999. Rare and threatened plants of KwaZulu-Natal and neighbouring regions. KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service, Pietermaritzburg.
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Citation |
| Scott-Shaw, C.R., Johnson, I.M. & von Staden, L. 2007. Kniphofia pauciflora Baker. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/04/13 |
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