Red List Status
VU - Vulnerable, B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) (IUCN version 3.1)

Red List Assessment

Red List Status

Is the reassessment subject to the 5-year rule? (Not specified)

Assessment Information

Date of Assessment: 2023-01-26

Reviewed? (Not specified)

Assessor(s): Braun, K.

Reviewer(s): (Not specified)

Contributor(s): (Not specified)

Facilitators/Compilers: (Not specified)

Institution(s): (Not specified)

Acknowledgements: (Not specified)

Regions: Global

Regional Expert Questions: (Not specified)

Assessment Rationale

Asystasia hirsuta has a restricted distribution, with an estimated extent of occurrence of 6,923.895 km² and an area of occupancy of 24 km². The areas where this species has been found are subjected to the threat of habitat destruction by ongoing livestock grazing, and in some parts of its range, to urban development. Based on this, it has been assessed as Vulnerable, under Criteria B1 and B2.
Date last seen: 2021

Reasons for Change

Reason(s) for Change in Red List Category from the Previous Assessment: (Not specified)

Red List Index

Red List Index: (Not specified)

Distribution

Geographic Range

This species has been recorded from five widely spread localities within Eswatini, four highveld and one in the Lubombo mountains. There is also a record from South Africa, near Nelspruit, making this species a near endemic for Eswatini.

Area of Occupancy (AOO)

Estimated area of occupancy (AOO) - in km2	Justification
24	This species has been recorded from six records. The estimated area of occupancy was calculated using GeoCAT (Bachman et al. 2011), with the standard 2x2 km grid cell being applied.

Continuing decline in area of occupancy (AOO)	Qualifier	Justification
Unknown	-	There is no information on any trends for this species.

Extreme fluctuations in area of occupancy (AOO)	Justification
Unknown	There is no information on any trends for this species.

Extent of Occurrence (EOO)

Estimated extent of occurrence (EOO)- in km2	EOO estimate calculated from Minimum Convex Polygon	Justification
6923.90	true	This species has been recorded from six localities, five from Eswatini and one from South Africa. The estimated extent of occurrence was calculated using GeoCAT (Bachman et al. 2011).

Continuing decline in extent of occurrence (EOO)	Qualifier	Justification
Unknown	-	There is no information on any trends for this species.

Extreme fluctuations in extent of occurrence (EOO)	Justification
Unknown	There is no information on any trends for this species.

Locations Information

Number of Locations	Justification
6	This species has been recorded from six localities, five from Eswatini and one from South Africa. These are considered to form 6 separate locations.

Continuing decline in number of locations	Qualifier	Justification
Unknown	-	There is no information on any trends for this species.

Extreme fluctuations in the number of locations	Justification
Unknown	There is no information on any trends for this species.

Very restricted AOO or number of locations (triggers VU D2)

Very restricted in area of occupancy (AOO) and/or # of locations	Justification
Unknown	Two of the records for this species are over fifty years old, and presence of this species has not been confirmed at these localities, so it is possible that the plant no longer occurs in these areas.

Elevation / Depth / Depth Zones

Elevation Lower Limit (in metres above sea level): 725

Elevation Upper Limit (in metres above sea level): 1330

Depth Lower Limit (in metres below sea level): (Not specified)

Depth Upper Limit (in metres below sea level): (Not specified)

Depth Zone: (Not specified)

Map Status

Map Status: (Not specified)

Biogeographic Realms

Biogeographic Realm: Afrotropical

Country	Presence	Origin	Formerly Bred	Seasonality
Eswatini	Extant	Native	-	Resident
South Africa -> Mpumalanga	Extant	Native	-	Resident

Population

No population surveys have been carried out for this species. For the purposes of this assessment, the localities of older records have been included, as, at the time of this assessment, there is no evidence to indicate that the plant no longer exists in these areas. Where this species has been observed recently, it was uncommon, with two individuals observed in the area visited.

Population Information

Current Population Trend: Unknown

Number of mature individuals (=population size): (Not specified)

Extreme fluctuations? (in # of mature individuals): (Not specified)

Severely fragmented? (Not specified)

Continuing decline in mature individuals? (Not specified)

Continuing decline % in mature individuals within 1 generation or 3 years, whichever is longer (up to max. of 100 years in the future): (Not specified)

Continuing decline % in mature individuals within 2 generations or 5 years, whichever is longer (up to max. of 100 years in the future): (Not specified)

Continuing decline % in mature individuals within 3 generations or 10 years, whichever is longer (up to max. of 100 years in the future): (Not specified)

Extreme fluctuations in the number of subpopulations: (Not specified)

Continuing decline in number of subpopulations: (Not specified)

All individuals in one subpopulation: (Not specified)

Number of mature individuals in largest subpopulation: (Not specified)

Number of Subpopulations: (Not specified)

Population Reduction - Past

Percent Change in past: (Not specified)

Past Population Reduction Basis: (Not specified)

Causes of past reduction reversible? (Not specified)

Causes of past reduction understood? (Not specified)

Causes of past reduction ceased? (Not specified)

Population Reduction - Future

Percent Change in future: (Not specified)

Future Population Reduction Basis: (Not specified)

Population Reduction - Ongoing

Both: Percent Change over any 10 year or 3 generation period, whichever is longer, and must include both past and future, future can't go beyond 100 years: (Not specified)

Both Population Reduction Basis: (Not specified)

Causes of both (past and future) reduction reversible? (Not specified)

Causes of both (past and future) reduction understood? (Not specified)

Causes of both (past and future) reduction ceased? (Not specified)

Quantitative Analysis

Probability of extinction in the wild within 3 generations or 10 years, whichever is longer, maximum 100 years: (Not specified)

Probability of extinction in the wild within 5 generations or 20 years, whichever is longer, maximum 100 years: (Not specified)

Probability of extinction in the wild within 100 years: (Not specified)

Habitats and Ecology

This species has been observed in vegetation type KaNgwane Montane Grassland (Gm16) in the Eswatini highveld, and in vegetation type Southern Lebombo Bushveld (SVI16) in the Lubombo Mountains. In South Africa, based on a rough estimate of the locality, it was recorded from Barberton Serpentine Sourveld (SVI13) (Mucina et. al. 2018).

IUCN Habitats Classification Scheme

Habitat	Season	Suitability	Major Importance?
2.2. Savanna -> Savanna - Moist	-	Suitable	-
4.7. Grassland -> Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	-	Suitable	-

Continuing Decline in Habitat

Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat?	Qualifier	Justification
Yes	-	The recent observations of this species in the Eswatini highveld were in an area subject to heavy grazing and adjacent to expanding urban development.

Life History

Generation Length: (Not specified)

Age at maturity: female or unspecified: (Not specified)

Age at Maturity: Male: (Not specified)

Size at Maturity (in cms): Female: (Not specified)

Size at Maturity (in cms): Male: (Not specified)

Longevity: (Not specified)

Average Reproductive Age: (Not specified)

Maximum Size (in cms): (Not specified)

Size at Birth (in cms): (Not specified)

Gestation Time: (Not specified)

Reproductive Periodicity: (Not specified)

Average Annual Fecundity or Litter Size: (Not specified)

Annual Rate of Population Increase: (Not specified)

Natural Mortality: (Not specified)

Does the species lay eggs? (Not specified)

Does the species give birth to live young: (Not specified)

Does the species exhibit parthenogenesis: (Not specified)

Does the species have a free-living larval stage? (Not specified)

Does the species require water for breeding? (Not specified)

Movement Patterns

Movement Patterns: (Not specified)

Congregatory: (Not specified)

Systems

System: Terrestrial

Plant / Fungi Specific

Wild relative of a crop? (Not specified)

Plant and Fungal Growth Forms: (Not specified)

Use and Trade

General Use and Trade Information

Species not utilized: (Not specified)

No use/trade information for this species: true

General notes regarding trade and use of this species: (Not specified)

Local Livelihood: (Not specified)

National Commercial Value: (Not specified)

International Commercial Value: (Not specified)

End Use: (Not specified)

Is there harvest from captive/cultivated sources of this species? (Not specified)

Trend in level of total offtake from wild sources: (Not specified)

Trend in level of total offtake from domesticated sources: (Not specified)

Harvest Trend Comments: (Not specified)

Non- Consumptive Use

Non-consumptive use of the species? (Not specified)

Explanation of non-consumptive use: (Not specified)

Livelihoods

Livelihoods: (Not specified)

Threats

The recent observations of this species in the Eswatini highveld were in an area subject to heavy grazing and adjacent to expanding urban development. This also applies to the earlier record from the same general area, near the Ngwenya/Oshoek border.

Threats Classification Scheme

No past, ongoing, or future threats exist to this species. (Not specified)

The threats to this species are unknown. (Not specified)

Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity
1.1. Residential & commercial development -> Housing & urban areas	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
2.3.2. Agriculture & aquaculture -> Livestock farming & ranching -> Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Ongoing	Unknown	Unknown

Conservation

None of the records for this species have been from within an existing conservation area.

Conservation Actions In- Place

Action Recovery Plan	Note
No	-

Systematic monitoring scheme	Note
No	-

Conservation sites identified	Note
No	-

Occur in at least one PA	Note
No	-

Percentage of population protected by PAs (0-100)	Note
0	-

Area based regional management plan	Note
No	-

Invasive species control or prevention: (Not specified)

Harvest management plan	Note
No	-

Successfully reintroduced or introduced benignly	Note
No	-

Subject to ex-situ conservation	Note
No	-

Subject to recent education and awareness programmes	Note
No	-

Included in international legislation	Note
No	-

Subject to any international management/trade controls	Note
No	-

Important Conservation Actions Needed

Conservation Actions	Note
1.2. Land/water protection -> Resource & habitat protection	Many of the grassland areas in Eswatini are subject to heavy grazing and burning, so there is a need for conservation measures to protect this habitat.
3.4.2. Species management -> Ex-situ conservation -> Genome resource bank	There is currently no ex-situ conservation for this species, collection of material for long term storage would ensure the survival of this plant if it is lost from its natural habitats.

Research Needed

Research	Note
1.2. Research -> Population size, distribution & trends	There is currently no information available on population size or trends for this species, and more fieldwork is required to determine if this plant occurs at more locations.
1.3. Research -> Life history & ecology	Very little is known about the life history and ecology of this species.
3.4. Monitoring -> Habitat trends	There is the potential for loss of populations of this species due to land use practices or changes, monitoring of the status of the habitat would provide information in this regard.

Asystasia hirsuta - (T.J.Edwards) I.Darbysh. & E.A.Tripp