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Scientific Name | Ornithogalum niveum Aiton |
Higher Classification | Monocotyledons |
Family | HYACINTHACEAE |
Synonyms | Ornithogalum bergusianum Poelln., Ornithogalum pauciflorum Baker (later homonym), not of Raf. (1814), nor Turcz. (1834) |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Data Deficient - Taxonomically Problematic |
Assessment Date | 2012/02/14 |
Assessor(s) | L. von Staden & J.C. Manning |
Justification | Ornithogalum niveum was misunderstood and misapplied by Baker (1897), Leighton (1945) and Obermeyer (1978), who associated with the name plants now known as Ornithogalum schlechterianum (Goldblatt and Manning 2000). An examination of the type specimen revealed that O. niveum belongs to the widespread and variable Ornithogalum juncifolium complex, but the material is too poor to be matched to any known wild population of Ornithogalum, and thus the application of the name remains uncertain (Müller-Doblies and Müller-Doblies 1996). |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Western Cape |
Range | Unknown. The species was described from plants cultivated at Kew Botanic Gardens, collected by Francis Masson on his first Cape journey (1772-1773), where he surveyed the area between the Cape Peninsula and Swellendam. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Fynbos |
Description | Unknown. |
Threats |
| Unknown. |
Population |
Population trend | Unknown |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Ornithogalum niveum Aiton | Data Deficient (Taxonomically Problematic) | 2012.1 | |
Bibliography |
Baker, J.G. 1897. Liliaceae. In: W.T. Thiselton-Dyer (ed). Flora Capensis VI (Haemodoraceae to Liliaceae):253-528. L. Reeve & Co., London.
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.
Leighton, F.M. 1945. A revision of the South African species of Ornithogalum L. Part III. Journal of South African Botany 11:135-185.
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.
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Citation |
| von Staden, L. & Manning, J.C. 2012. Ornithogalum niveum Aiton. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/04/18 |
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