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Scientific Name | Disa forficaria Bolus |
Higher Classification | Monocotyledons |
Family | ORCHIDACEAE |
Synonyms | Forficaria graminifolia Lindl., Herschelia forficaria (Bolus) H.P.Linder, Herschelianthe forficaria (Bolus) N.C.Anthony |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Data Deficient - Insufficient Information |
Assessment Date | 2006/06/21 |
Assessor(s) | L. von Staden, B. Bytebier, W.R. Liltved, E.G.H. Oliver & T.A. Oliver |
Justification | Known from five herbarium records, all collected before 1966. Concerted efforts to find this species at known and potential sites have failed to relocate it, and it may be exceedingly rare. Not enough is known about this species' current population status to determine its status. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Western Cape |
Range | Cape Peninsula, and Du Toit's Kloof, Hottentots Holland, Houwhoek and Groenland Mountains. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Overberg Sandstone Fynbos |
Description | Possibly damp sandy areas on mountain slopes, 100-1000 m. |
Threats |
| Threats to this species remains poorly understood. Too infrequent fires and invasive alien species might have led to the decline/disappearance from one historically known location. It is possible that this species requires very specific environmental conditions independent of fires to flower, which may be the reason why it is so rarely seen. It is not known whether exceptionally rare species such as D. forficaria are able to maintain viable populations, and it might be naturally declining to extinction. (Liltved and Johnson unpubl.). |
Population |
Disa forficaria is extremely rare, and at each of the known collections only a single plant was found (B. Bytebier pers. comm.). The exceedingly obscure Disa forficaria has been found only on very few occasions and apparently has not been seen since 1966. Concerted efforts to find this species at several documented and numerous other localities, have been in vain and it is possible D. forficaria may be exceedingly rare in nature. (Liltved and Johnson, unpubl.)
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Population trend | Unknown |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Disa forficaria Bolus | Data Deficient | Raimondo et al. (2009) | | Disa forficaria Bolus | Lower Risk - Least Concern | Victor (2002) | | Herschelianthe forficaria (Bolus) N.C.Anthony | Rare | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | |
Bibliography |
Hilton-Taylor, C. 1996. Red data list of southern African plants. Strelitzia 4. South African National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
Liltved, W.R. and Johnson, S.D. Unpublished. The Cape Orchids - Wild orchids of the Cape Floral Kingdom.
Linder, H.P. and Kurzweil, H. 1999. Orchids of southern Africa. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam.
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.
Victor, J.E. 2002. South Africa. In: J.S. Golding (ed), Southern African plant Red Data Lists. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report 14 (pp. 93-120), SABONET, Pretoria.
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Citation |
| von Staden, L., Bytebier, B., Liltved, W.R., Oliver, E.G.H. & Oliver, T.A. 2006. Disa forficaria Bolus. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/04/14 |
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