Red List Status
VU - Vulnerable, D2 (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: Information on the South African subpopulations of this species was provided by Troos van der Merve.

Regions: Global

Regional Expert Questions: (Not specified)

Assessment Rationale

Callilepis corymbosa has a restricted distribution, with an estimated extent of occurrence of 1,028.399 km² and an area of occupancy of 16 km². Although there is a potential threat to part of its range by the spread of Eucalyptus species, at the time of this assessment other potential threats were not known. Based on this, it has been assessed as Vulnerable under Criterion D2.
Date last seen: 2020

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 was originally only known from the type locality in the Lubombo Mountains in Eswatini, but has since been located at four localities in Mpumalanga, north of Eswatini (not all documented yet), and its presence in Mozambique near the Eswatini border has also been confirmed.

Area of Occupancy (AOO)

Estimated area of occupancy (AOO) - in km2	Justification
16	The estimated area of occupancy is based on the four documented localities for this species, calculated using GeoCAT (Bachman et al. 2011), with the standard 2x2 km grid cell being applied. There are additional undocumented localities in South Africa which would increase the area of occupancy.

Continuing decline in area of occupancy (AOO)	Qualifier	Justification
No	Inferred	There is no information on decline in area of occupancy for this species.

Extreme fluctuations in area of occupancy (AOO): (Not specified)

Extent of Occurrence (EOO)

Estimated extent of occurrence (EOO)- in km2	EOO estimate calculated from Minimum Convex Polygon	Justification
1028.399	true	The estimated extent of occurrence was based on four documented localities for this species, calculated using GeoCAT (Bachman et al. 2011).

Continuing decline in extent of occurrence (EOO)	Qualifier	Justification
No	Inferred	There is currently no evidence in a decline in extent of occurence for this species.

Extreme fluctuations in extent of occurrence (EOO): (Not specified)

Locations Information

Number of Locations	Justification
4	There are currently four documented localities for this species. It has been observed but not yet documented in two more localities in South Africa. Based on the distribution of the localities, the population is comprised of four locations.

Continuing decline in number of locations	Qualifier	Justification
No	Inferred	There is currently no evidence of a decline in number of locations.

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

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

Very restricted in area of occupancy (AOO) and/or # of locations	Justification
Yes	Currently, there are only four documented localities for this species, although two additional localities are known in South Africa, giving an estimated number of locations of four. More fieldwork might also reveal more localities in the Lubombo Mountains in Eswatini or Mozambique.

Elevation / Depth / Depth Zones

Elevation Lower Limit (in metres above sea level): 410

Elevation Upper Limit (in metres above sea level): 680

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
Mozambique	Extant	Native	-	Resident
South Africa -> Mpumalanga	Extant	Native	-	Resident

Population

This species has been observed to have subpopulations of 20 to 50 plants at each locality in South Africa, and is reported as abundant locally at the type locality.

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 is found in grassland on mountain slopes, on gentle to steep slopes, on stony/rocky soil, in full sun. They are believed to require burning as a part of their life cycle. It has been found in two vegetation types, Southern Lebombo Bushveld (SVI16) and Kaalrug Mountain Bushveld (SVI12) (Mucina et. al. 2018).

IUCN Habitats Classification Scheme

Habitat	Season	Suitability	Major Importance?
2.2. Savanna -> Savanna - Moist	-	Suitable	Yes

Continuing Decline in Habitat

Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat?	Qualifier	Justification
No	Inferred	There is no reported decline in habitat, although there is the potential for invasion by Eucalyptus species at one locality in South Africa.

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)

Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity
8.1.1. Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases -> Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases -> Unspecified species	Future	Minority (<50%)	Slow, Significant Declines

Conservation

The currently known distribution for this species does not include any conservation areas. The plants favour low altitude grassland of which very little is formally protected.

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	Very little of the habitat for this species is currently formally protected.
3.4.2. Species management -> Ex-situ conservation -> Genome resource bank	No material has yet been collected for ex-situ conservation of this species.

Research Needed

Research	Note
1.2. Research -> Population size, distribution & trends	More fieldwork is required to determine the extent of this plant's distribution, as well as any trends.

Callilepis corymbosa - P.P.J.Herman & Koek.