| IUCN Species Information Service (SIS) Toolkit |
| Assessment Report | |
| Taxonomy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
| PLANTAE | TRACHEOPHYTA | LILIOPSIDA | ASPARAGALES | ASPARAGACEAE |
| Scientific Name: | Asparagus radiatus |
| Species Authority: | Sebsebe |
| Common Name/s: - | |
| Synonym/s: | - |
| Taxonomic Notes: | - |
| Assessment Information | |
|---|---|
| Red List Category & Criteria: | Endangered B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) |
| Year Assessed: | 2023 |
| Assessor/s: | Braun, K. |
| Reviewer/s: | |
| Contributor/s: | |
| Facilitator/s: | |
| Institutions/s: | |
| Justification: Asparagus radiatus has a restricted distribution, with an estimated extent of occurrence of 40.543 km2 and an area of occupancy of 24 km2. Although part of its range falls within a protected area, there are ongoing threats to its habitat from timber harvesting. Based on this, it has been assessed as Vulnerable, under Criteria B1 and B2. Date last seen: 2020 | |
| History: | - |
| Geographic Range | |
|---|---|
| Range Description: | This species is known from the Lubombo mountains in north eastern Eswatini, and the neighbouring Goba area in Mozambique. |
| Countries: | Native: Eswatini; Mozambique; |
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Population: | This species has been recorded from eight localites within the Lubombo Mountains in Eswatini and in the adjacent Goba area in Mozambique. It is uncommon at these localities. No detailed population surveys have been conducted. |
| Population Trend: | Unknown |
| Habitat and Ecology | |
|---|---|
| Habitat and Ecology: | This species is found on dry rocky slopes on rhyolite, in Androstachys johnsonii dry forest. This area falls within the vegetation type Southern Lebombo Bushveld (SVI16) (Mucina et. al. 2018). |
| List of Habitats: | 1 Forest 1.5 Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry |
| Threats | |
|---|---|
| Major Threat(s): | The survival of this species is dependent on the continued existence of its habitat, in Androstachys johnsonii forests in the Lubombo Mountains. Some of the existing forests may be at risk from timber harvesting. |
| List of Threats: | 5 Biological resource use 5.3 Logging & wood harvesting 5.3.1 Intentional use: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest] |
| Conservation Actions | |
|---|---|
| Conservation Actions: | The range of the population of this species is included both in Mlawula Nature Reserve, and Shewula and Mhlumeni community conservation areas. The community conservation areas at this stage do not provide protection against timber harvesting which could result in habitat degradation. |
| 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 AW, 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: | - |