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Scientific Name | Ornithogalum hallii Oberm. |
Higher Classification | Monocotyledons |
Family | HYACINTHACEAE |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Endangered C2a(ii) |
Assessment Date | 2015/07/02 |
Assessor(s) | N.A. Helme & L. von Staden |
Justification | A population of fewer than 1000 mature individuals continue to decline due to ongoing habitat loss to agricultural expansion. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Western Cape |
Range | Olifants River Valley between Lutzville and Klawer. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Vanrhynsdorp Gannabosveld |
Description | Hard, shallow clay soils overlying rocky substrates. |
Threats |
| This species is threatened by ongoing habitat loss to vineyard expansion across its range. Part of the subpopulation at the type locality was lost to railway construction in the past. |
Population |
This species was thought to be extinct when the population at the type locality was destroyed during the construction of the Sishen-Saldanha railway line (Obermeyer 1978), and it was not recorded again since the early 1970s. It was rediscovered in 2014 on a farm about 15 km away on the other side of Vredendal, where a large population of several hundred individuals were found in an area earmarked for vineyard expansion. Most of the species habitat on this farm will now be protected, but it is likely to still be declining in similar habitat along the Olifants River between Lutzville and Klawer (N.A. Helme pers. comm.). At present it is only known from one confirmed subpopulation, but it is very likely overlooked elsewhere (N.A. Helme pers. comm.). Surveys are needed to confirm the size and extent of the population.
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Ornithogalum hallii Oberm. | EN C2a(ii) | 2015.1 | | Ornithogalum hallii Oberm. | Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) | Raimondo et al. (2009) | | Ornithogalum hallii Oberm. | Vulnerable | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | |
Bibliography |
Hilton-Taylor, C. 1996. Red data list of southern African plants. Strelitzia 4. South African National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
Müller-Doblies, U. and Müller-Doblies, D. 1996. Revisionula incompleta Ornithogalorum Austro-Africanorum (Hyacinthaceae). Feddes Repertorium 107(5-6):361-548.
Obermeyer, A.A. 1978. Ornithogalum: a revision of the southern African species. Bothalia 12(3):323-376.
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 |
| Helme, N.A. & von Staden, L. 2015. Ornithogalum hallii Oberm. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/15 |
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