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Scientific Name | Cotula pusilla Thunb. |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | ASTERACEAE |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Vulnerable B2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v) |
Assessment Date | 2013/09/16 |
Assessor(s) | R.F. Powell, N.A. Helme & L. von Staden |
Justification | A widespread (EOO 9629-24 870 km²), but very localized habitat specialist (AOO <5 km²), known from between eight and 10 remaining locations, and declining due to ongoing habitat loss to urban and agricultural expansion. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Western Cape |
Range | Clanwilliam southwards along the Cape West Coast to the Cape Flats and Caledon, possibly extending eastwards as far as Ladismith. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Cape Flats Dune Strandveld, Langebaan Dune Strandveld, Saldanha Limestone Strandveld, Saldanha Granite Strandveld, Lambert's Bay Strandveld, Swartland Shale Renosterveld, Montagu Shale Renosterveld, Western Ruens Shale Renosterveld, Peninsula Shale Renosterveld, Swartland Granite Renosterveld, Cape Flats Sand Fynbos, Atlantis Sand Fynbos, Hopefield Sand Fynbos, Swartland Alluvium Fynbos, Breede Alluvium Fynbos |
Description | Margins of saline seasonal pools in sandy coastal areas. |
Threats |
| This species has suffered extensive habitat loss and degradation due to agricultural expansion across most of its range, and most remaining subpopulations are confined to isolated fragments among crop fields. Only one known subpopulation remains on the Cape Flats after all other subpopulations known through historical collections have been lost to urban expansion. Remaining subpopulations continue to be threatened by ongoing habitat loss to agricultural and urban expansion. |
Population |
Cotula pusilla is known from only a few collections, scattered over a wide area. It is restricted to a specialized, localized wetland habitat, but within suitable habitat, it is locally abundant.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Cotula pusilla Thunb. | VU B2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v) | 2014.1 | | Cotula pusilla Thunb. | NT B1ab(ii,iii,iv,v) | 2013.1 | | Cotula pusilla Thunb. | NT B1ab(ii,iii,iv,v) | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
Bibliography |
Goldblatt, P. and Manning, J.C. 2000. Cape Plants: A conspectus of the Cape Flora of South Africa. Strelitzia 9. National Botanical Institute, Cape Town.
Powell, R.F., Boatwright, J.S. and Magee, A.R. 2014. A taxonomic revision of the Cotula coronopifolia group (Asteraceae) and implications for the conservation statuses of the species. South African Journal of Botany 93:105-117.
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.
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Citation |
| Powell, R.F., Helme, N.A. & von Staden, L. 2013. Cotula pusilla Thunb. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/09 |
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