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

Red List Assessment

Assessment Information

Date of Assessment: 2023-01-20

Assessor(s): Braun, K.

Regions: Global

Assessment Rationale

Eumorphia swaziensis has a very restricted range, with a calculated area of occurrence of 22.483 km² and an area of occupancy of 28 km². Part of its range falls within an urban area and is under threat from urban development, and all of the range is affected by overgrazing by livestock. Based on this, it has been assessed as Endangered under Criteria B1 and B2.
Date last seen: 2023

Distribution

Geographic Range

This species is known from hilltops in Eswatini, in the Mbabane area and northeast to Sibebe. The calculation of area of occupancy and extent of occurrence is approximate, due to older herbarium specimens not having precise locality information. Interpretation of the locality description puts one of the records in a valley, but it is likely that the plant was found on a hilltop above the valley. The lower figure for altitude range, 1030m, is therefore likely to be inaccurate, all other records falling between 1305m and 1380m.

Area of Occupancy (AOO)

Estimated area of occupancy (AOO) - in km2	Justification
28	The area of occupancy has been based on 8 records for this species, calculated using GeoCAT (Bachman et al. 2011), with the standard 2x2 km grid cell being applied. Due to vague locality descriptions on older herbarium specimens, it might be that some of these do not represent separate sub-populations.

Continuing decline in area of occupancy (AOO)	Qualifier	Justification
Unknown	-	-

Extent of Occurrence (EOO)

Estimated extent of occurrence (EOO)- in km2	EOO estimate calculated from Minimum Convex Polygon	Justification
22.483	true	The extent of occurrence has been based on 10 records for this species, calculated using GeoCAT (Bachman et al. 2011). Due to vague locality descriptions on older herbarium specimens, this might be over-estimating the extent of occurrence.

Continuing decline in extent of occurrence (EOO)	Qualifier	Justification
Unknown	-	-

Locations Information

Number of Locations	Justification
6	There are 10 records of this species, but due to vague locality information in some cases, it is probable that there are only six locations for this plant.

Continuing decline in number of locations	Qualifier	Justification
Unknown	-	-

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

Very restricted in area of occupancy (AOO) and/or # of locations	Justification
No	The area of occupancy, based on the record information currently available is 28 km2. Due to vague locality descriptions on some of the older herbarium specimens, it might be less than this, but additional localities recorded in 2023 extend the area of occupancy to at least 20 km2.

Elevation / Depth / Depth Zones

Elevation Lower Limit (in metres above sea level): 1030

Elevation Upper Limit (in metres above sea level): 1380

Biogeographic Realms

Biogeographic Realm: Afrotropical

Country	Presence	Origin	Formerly Bred	Seasonality
Eswatini	Extant	Native	-	Resident

Population

No population surveys have been conducted yet for this species. For the purpose of this assessment, it has been assumed that the plant still exists in the localities recorded on older records, due to its habitat being rocky mountain tops, many of which have survived in spite of urban development. Two additional sub-populations were located in 2023, one covering an area of about 20 x 50 metres, and the other extending around around a small valley in a narrow band, estimated at up to 200 metres long.

Population Information

Current Population Trend: Unknown

Habitats and Ecology

This plant has been found in grassland on hilltops and hillsides in the vicinity of Mbabane and north east to Sibebe, in vegetation type KaNgwane Montane Grassland (Gm16) (Mucina et. al. 2018).

IUCN Habitats Classification Scheme

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

Continuing Decline in Habitat

Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat?	Qualifier	Justification
Yes	Inferred	It is likely that there is an ongoing decline in the extent of habitat for this species due to urban development.

Systems

System: Terrestrial

Threats

Due to the distribution of this species being included within the Mbabane urban area, and the ongoing development of surrounding areas, there is a potential threat to this species from urban development. There is no formal conservation of any areas where this plant is found, and the grassland is subject to heavy grazing.

Threats Classification Scheme

Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity
1.1. Residential & commercial development -> Housing & urban areas	Ongoing	Minority (<50%)	Very Rapid Declines
2.3.2. Agriculture & aquaculture -> Livestock farming & ranching -> Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Ongoing	Majority (50-90%)	Slow, Significant Declines

Conservation

There is no formal conservation of any areas where this plant is found.

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	Note
No	-

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
1.1. Land/water protection -> Site/area protection	The localities of this plant which fall within the Mbabane area could be established as small flora reserves.
1.2. Land/water protection -> Resource & habitat protection	There is a need for some form of formal protection for many of the hilltop areas in and around the Mbabane area, not only for this species but also for many other species with restricted distributions also found in these localities.
3.4.2. Species management -> Ex-situ conservation -> Genome resource bank	No material has been collected yet for ex-situ conservation, this activity would increase the chances of survival for this species.

Research Needed

Research	Note
1.2. Research -> Population size, distribution & trends	Surveys of population size, distribution and trends would provide information needed for conservation planning.
1.3. Research -> Life history & ecology	Very little is currently known with regard to the life history and ecology for this species. In order to develop conservation plans for this plant, information would be needed on the species response to grazing and burning.
2.2. Conservation Planning -> Area-based Management Plan	There is a need for research into how best to conserve this species along with other priority species occurring in and around the Mbabane area.

Bibliography

Insufficient Information Available	All coded services should have an importance score of 5 - Not Known.
true	-

Bachman, S., Moat, J., Hill, A.W., 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.

Eumorphia swaziensis - Compton