| IUCN Species Information Service (SIS) Toolkit |
| Assessment Report | |
| Taxonomy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
| PLANTAE | TRACHEOPHYTA | LILIOPSIDA | ASPARAGALES | ORCHIDACEAE |
| Scientific Name: | Polystachya ngomensis |
| Species Authority: | G.McDonald & McMurtry |
| Common Name/s: - | |
| Synonym/s: | - |
| Taxonomic Notes: | - |
| Assessment Information | |
|---|---|
| Red List Category & Criteria: | Vulnerable B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) |
| Year Assessed: | 2023 |
| Assessor/s: | Braun, K. |
| Reviewer/s: | |
| Contributor/s: | |
| Facilitator/s: | |
| Institutions/s: | |
| Justification: Polystachya ngomensis has a restricted distribution, with an estimated extent of occurrence of 6,333,877 km2, and an area of occupancy of 24 km2. There is an ongoing threat of habitat loss affecting some of its population. 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 near the Eswatini border in Mpumalanga, South Africa, extending south through the Eswatini highveld, to the Ngome area in KwaZulu Natal. |
| Countries: | Native: Eswatini; KwaZulu-Natal; Mpumalanga; |
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Population: | No detailed population surveys have been conducted for this species, however at one locality in Mpumalanga, it was recorded as being prolific, with numerous seedlings present. |
| Population Trend: | Unknown |
| Habitat and Ecology | |
|---|---|
| Habitat and Ecology: | This species is epiphytic on a variety of tree species, and in Eswatini, it has been found growing on Xerophyta retinervis. The vegetation types where this species has been found are grassland areas, including Barberton Montane Grassland (Gm17), KaNgwane Montane Grassland (Gm16), and Northern Zululand Mistbelt Grassland (Gs1) (Mucina et. al. 2018). |
| List of Habitats: | 4 Grassland 4.7 Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude |
| Threats | |
|---|---|
| Major Threat(s): | As this species is epiphytic, where it is not found on the Xerophyta,it is dependent on the presence of trees within the grassland areas, and there is ongoing habitat degradation of forested areas within the highveld grassland areas. |
| 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: | This species has currently not been recorded from within any protected areas. |
| 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: | - |