Assessment Report - Drimiopsis comptonii

	IUCN Species Information Service (SIS) Toolkit
	Assessment Report

Taxonomy
Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
PLANTAE	TRACHEOPHYTA	LILIOPSIDA	ASPARAGALES	ASPARAGACEAE

Scientific Name:	Drimiopsis comptonii
Species Authority:	U.Müll.-Doblies & D.Müll.-Doblies
Common Name/s: -
Synonym/s:	Ledebouria comptonii (U.Müll.-Doblies & D.Müll.-Doblies) J.C.Manning & Goldblatt
Taxonomic Notes:	-

Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:	Vulnerable D2
Year Assessed:	2023
Assessor/s:	Braun, K.
Reviewer/s:
Contributor/s:
Facilitator/s:
Institutions/s:
Justification: Drimiopsis comptonii is only known from one locality, and based on its very small area of occupancy and extent of occurrence it qualifies for Vulnerable status under criterion D2. In spite of the locality being immediately adjacent to urban development, the topography of the area might protect it from urban expansion and habitat loss. Date last seen: 2022.
History:	-

Geographic Range
Range Description:	This species is only known from one locality in the Mbabane area in Eswatini.
Countries:	Native: Eswatini;

Population
Population:	This species was first recorded in 1984 and again in 2000, but no population information was recorded on either occasion. The site was visited again in October 2022, and the plant found, no detailed survey was conducted, but the species is frequent within a very small area. The population is considered to be stable. In spite of the urban development in adjacent areas, it is possible that due to the micro-habitat requirements for this species it did not occur in these areas prior to their development.
Population Trend:	Stable

Population

Population:

This species was first recorded in 1984 and again in 2000, but no population information was recorded on either occasion. The site was visited again in October 2022, and the plant found, no detailed survey was conducted, but the species is frequent within a very small area. The population is considered to be stable. In spite of the urban development in adjacent areas, it is possible that due to the micro-habitat requirements for this species it did not occur in these areas prior to their development.

Population Trend:

Stable

Habitat and Ecology
Habitat and Ecology:	This plant was found in rocky grassland, on south-facing granitic outcrops in peaty pans. The area falls within KaNgwane Montane Grassland Gm16 (Mucina et. al. 2018). The plant appears to be limited to a very specific micro habitat, where they occur in shallow soil on granite sheets.
List of Habitats:	4 Grassland 4.7 Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude

Threats
Major Threat(s):	There is a possible threat due to urban development, but due to the topography, it is unlikely to affect the area where this plant has been found. There is a cellphone tower immediately adjacent to the plant's locality, but the impact of this is unknown.
List of Threats:	1 Residential & commercial development 1.1 Housing & urban areas

Conservation Actions
Conservation Actions:	This species has only been recorded from one location, which is currently unprotected. The site was visited in October 2022, and it was seen that it lends itself to the establishment of a flora reserve. The topography of the area makes it unsuitable for further expansion of urban development, and it includes not only this species, but other species with restricted distributions. The formal protection of this area would not only provide some measure of protection for these plants, but also maintain a green zone within the Mbabane urban area.
List of Conservation Actions:	1 Land/water protection 1.1 Site/area protection 3 Species management 3.4 Ex-situ conservation 3.4.2 Genome resource bank

Conservation Actions

Conservation Actions:

This species has only been recorded from one location, which is currently unprotected. The site was visited in October 2022, and it was seen that it lends itself to the establishment of a flora reserve. The topography of the area makes it unsuitable for further expansion of urban development, and it includes not only this species, but other species with restricted distributions. The formal protection of this area would not only provide some measure of protection for these plants, but also maintain a green zone within the Mbabane urban area.

List of Conservation Actions:

1 Land/water protection
1.1 Site/area protection
3 Species management
3.4 Ex-situ conservation
3.4.2 Genome resource bank

Bibliography
	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: