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Scientific Name | Leucadendron spirale (Salisb. ex Knight) I.Williams |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | PROTEACEAE |
Synonyms | Leucadendron scabrum R.Br. |
Common Names | Wolseley Conebush (e) |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Extinct |
Assessment Date | 2019/09/02 |
Assessor(s) | A.G. Rebelo, H. Mtshali & L. von Staden |
Justification | Leucadendron spirale formerly occurred in the Lower Breede River Valley in South Africa. Herbarium specimens of this species were collected in 1801 and 1819 and it was last recorded in 1933. Extensive searches in the 1960s and 1990s, the latter accompanied by a reward of R1000, yielded no sign of the species. It was serotinous and unlikely to survive as seeds in soil-stored seedbanks. The cause of extinction is unknown, but is likely the result of habitat loss to crop cultivation, alien plant invasion and afforestation. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Western Cape |
Range | This species' former distribution was in the Breede River Valley between Wolseley and Botha, in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Fynbos |
Description | This species occurred in riverine and swampy areas. Mature individuals would have been killed by fires, and only seeds survive. Wind-dispersed seeds, stored in fire-resistant inflorescences, would have been released after fires. It was dioecious, with wind-pollinated male and female flowers occurring on separate plants. |
Threats |
| This species has not been collected since 1933. Timber plantations and agriculture have caused severe loss of habitat at all the known locations. Plantations are no longer expanding within the known range of this species, but remaining habitat is often densely infested with alien invasive plants, especially near plantations, where escaping pine seedlings spread into adjacent fynbos. |
Population |
There is no information available on its former population size.
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Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Leucadendron spirale (Salisb. ex Knight) I.Williams | Extinct | Raimondo et al. (2009) | | Leucadendron spirale (Salisb. ex Knight) I.Williams | Extinct | Hilton-Taylor (1996) | | Leucadendron spirale (Salisb. ex Knight) I.Williams | Extinct | Hall et al. (1980) | |
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.
Hall, A.V., De Winter, M., De Winter, B. and Van Oosterhout, S.A.M. 1980. Threatened plants of southern Africa. South African National Scienctific Programmes Report 45. CSIR, Pretoria.
Hilton-Taylor, C. 1996. Red data list of southern African plants. Strelitzia 4. South African National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
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.
Rebelo, T. 2001. Sasol Proteas: A field guide to the proteas of southern Africa. (2nd ed.). Fernwood Press, Vlaeberg, Cape Town.
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Citation |
| Rebelo, A.G., Mtshali, H. & von Staden, L. 2019. Leucadendron spirale (Salisb. ex Knight) I.Williams. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/05/18 |
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