Assessment Report - Thesium infundibulare

	IUCN Species Information Service (SIS) Toolkit
	Assessment Report

Taxonomy
Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
PLANTAE	TRACHEOPHYTA	MAGNOLIOPSIDA	SANTALALES	SANTALACEAE

Scientific Name:	Thesium infundibulare
Species Authority:	N.Visser & M.M.le Roux
Common Name/s: -
Synonym/s:	-
Taxonomic Notes:	-

Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:	Endangered B1ab(ii,iii)+2ab(ii,iii)
Year Assessed:	2023
Assessor/s:	Braun, K.
Reviewer/s:	Raimondo, D. & Loffler, L.
Contributor/s:
Facilitator/s:
Institutions/s:
Justification: This species has a restricted distribution, with an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 3,803 km² and an area of occupancy (AOO) of 20 km². There are ongoing loss and degradation of its habitat as a result of overgrazing by livestock over much of its range. There are five locations known but it may possibly occur at a few more as yet unrecorded subpopulations, however based on the information available at the time of assessment it qualifies for listing as Endangered under Criterion B.
History:	-

Geographic Range
Range Description:	This species is known from the Eswatini highveld and from near Vryheid in South Africa. It is likely that this species is very under-collected as it is easily overlooked.
Countries:	Native: Eswatini; KwaZulu-Natal;

Population
Population:	There is no detailed population survey information for this species. For the purposes of this assessment, it has been assumed that this species still occurs at locations where it was historically collected as the habitat still exists, and more fieldwork might find this plant at more locations as it is likely to have been under collected. It is however inferred that the population is declining due to habitat degradation from livestock grazing and burning.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Population

Population:

There is no detailed population survey information for this species. For the purposes of this assessment, it has been assumed that this species still occurs at locations where it was historically collected as the habitat still exists, and more fieldwork might find this plant at more locations as it is likely to have been under collected. It is however inferred that the population is declining due to habitat degradation from livestock grazing and burning.

Population Trend:

Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology
Habitat and Ecology:	This species has been found on rocky outcrops in grassland areas. In Eswatini it has been recorded from three vegetation types, namely KaNgwane Montane Grassland (Gm16), Barberton Montane Grassland (Gm17) and Ithala Quartzite Sourveld (Gs2). In South Africa, it has been recorded from Northern Zululanad Mistbelt Grassland (Gs1) (Mucina et. al. 2018).
List of Habitats:	4 Grassland 4.7 Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude

Threats
Major Threat(s):	Apart from the location within Malolotja Nature Reserve, there is likely to be ongoing habitat degradation in the areas where this species has been recorded. The record from within the Mbabane urban area only has approximate locality information, so the degree to which it has been affected by urban expansion is not known. Most of the highveld grassland areas outside of protected areas are subject to ongoing heavy grazing and burning.
List of Threats:	1 Residential & commercial development 1.1 Housing & urban areas 2 Agriculture & aquaculture 2.3 Livestock farming & ranching 2.3.2 Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming

Threats

Major Threat(s):

Apart from the location within Malolotja Nature Reserve, there is likely to be ongoing habitat degradation in the areas where this species has been recorded. The record from within the Mbabane urban area only has approximate locality information, so the degree to which it has been affected by urban expansion is not known. Most of the highveld grassland areas outside of protected areas are subject to ongoing heavy grazing and burning.

List of Threats:

1 Residential & commercial development
1.1 Housing & urban areas
2 Agriculture & aquaculture
2.3 Livestock farming & ranching
2.3.2 Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming

Conservation Actions
Conservation Actions:	This species has been recorded from within Malolotja Nature Reserve, but the other known locations are all outside formally protected areas. Much of the highveld grassland within Eswatini is subject to ongoing heavy grazing and burning, resulting in habitat degradation, so there is a need for protection measures for this vegetation type. No material has yet been collected for the ex-situ conservation of this species. It is likely that this species has been overlooked in many areas, so there is a need for targeted fieldwork to better determine its distribution, as well as to obtain information on population trends.
List of Conservation Actions:	1 Land/water protection 1.2 Resource & habitat protection 3 Species management 3.4 Ex-situ conservation 3.4.2 Genome resource bank

Conservation Actions

Conservation Actions:

This species has been recorded from within Malolotja Nature Reserve, but the other known locations are all outside formally protected areas. Much of the highveld grassland within Eswatini is subject to ongoing heavy grazing and burning, resulting in habitat degradation, so there is a need for protection measures for this vegetation type. No material has yet been collected for the ex-situ conservation of this species. It is likely that this species has been overlooked in many areas, so there is a need for targeted fieldwork to better determine its distribution, as well as to obtain information on population trends.

List of Conservation Actions:

1 Land/water protection
1.2 Resource & habitat protection
3 Species management
3.4 Ex-situ conservation
3.4.2 Genome resource bank

Bibliography
	Bachman, S., Moat, J., Hill, A.W., de la Torre, J. and Scott, B. 2011. Supporting Red List threat assessments with GeoCAT geospatial conservation tool. In: Smith V, Penev L (Eds) e-Infrastructure for data publishing in biodiversity science. . ZooKeys 150: 117-126. Mucina, L., Rutherford, M.C. and Powrie, L.W. (Editors). 2018. The Vegetation Map of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. South African National Biodiversity Institute. Available at: http://bgis.sanbi.org/Projects/Detail/186.

Bibliography

Bachman, S., Moat, J., Hill, A.W., de la Torre, J. and Scott, B. 2011. Supporting Red List threat assessments with GeoCAT geospatial conservation tool. In: Smith V, Penev L (Eds) e-Infrastructure for data publishing in biodiversity science. . ZooKeys 150: 117-126.
Mucina, L., Rutherford, M.C. and Powrie, L.W. (Editors). 2018. The Vegetation Map of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. South African National Biodiversity Institute. Available at: http://bgis.sanbi.org/Projects/Detail/186.

Citation: