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Scientific Name | Schizoglossum bidens E.Mey. subsp. hirtum Kupicha |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | APOCYNACEAE |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Endangered B1ab(iii) |
Assessment Date | 2014/10/03 |
Assessor(s) | H. Mtshali |
Justification | EOO is 1510 km², and known from five widely scattered locations. It is declining due to ongoing habitat loss and degradation, as well as competition from alien invasive plants. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | KwaZulu-Natal |
Range | KwaZulu-Natal Midlands and East Griqualand. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Midlands Mistbelt Grassland, Drakensberg Foothill Moist Grassland |
Description | Moist grassland, on mountain slopes. |
Threats |
| Very little of this taxon's mistbelt grassland habitat remains intact after extensive losses to agriculture and timber plantations. It is threatened by ongoing habitat loss to development in the Midlands, and further south small grassland fragments continue to be degraded due to overgrazing and inappropriate fire management. Alien invasive plants are also spreading over much of the range. |
Population |
The taxon is only known from a few records and was last collected 23 years ago. Recent surveys by volunteers of the Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers (CREW) Programme have recorded a previously unknown subpopulation in Boston, which consists of about 50 plants. This is currently the only known subpopulation, and continued surveys are needed to determine if other subpopulations still exist. It is highly likely that it is overlooked as plants are cryptic, particularly in unburnt grassland, and intact habitat still exists at four locations known through historical records.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Schizoglossum bidens E.Mey. subsp. hirtum Kupicha | EN B1ab(iii) | 2017.1 | | Schizoglossum bidens E.Mey. subsp. hirtum Kupicha | Data Deficient | Raimondo et al. (2009) | | Schizoglossum bidens E.Mey. subsp. hirtum Kupicha | Data Deficient | Scott-Shaw (1999) | | Schizoglossum bidens E.Mey. subsp. hirtum Kupicha | Insufficiently Known | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | |
Bibliography |
Hilton-Taylor, C. 1996. Red data list of southern African plants. Strelitzia 4. South African National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
Kupicha, F.K. 1984. Studies on African Asclepiadaceae. Kew Bulletin 38(4):599-672.
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 |
| Mtshali, H. 2014. Schizoglossum bidens E.Mey. subsp. hirtum Kupicha. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/04/14 |
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