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Scientific Name | Conophytum fraternum (N.E.Br.) N.E.Br. |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | AIZOACEAE |
Synonyms | Conophytum praecox N.E.Br., Mesembryanthemum fraternum N.E.Br. |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Endangered A3d; B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) |
Assessment Date | 2023/10/23 |
Assessor(s) | A.J. Young, P.G. Desmet, I. Ebrahim, D. Guo, A. Harrower, L. Jabar, L. Knoetze, C. Rodgerson, P.C.V. Van Wyk & N.N. Mhlongo |
Justification | This succulent is endemic to the Northern Cape province of South Africa with an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 113 km² and area of occupancy (AOO) of 24 km². It is known from up to five locations and is experiencing ongoing decline in habitat quality. The dwarf succulents that comprise this genus have been increasingly targeted by illegal collection in recent years and the vast majority of species are in high demand by collectors. Whilst there is no evidence of illegal collection at the time of this submission, closely related species, including some from the immediate area, have been illegally removed from habitat with a dramatic increase in the number of species and volume of plants targeted since 2019. The threat of illegal collection is therefore regarded as high for this particular species given its limited number of locations and a decline of up to 75% of the population is likely within the next three generations (90 years) due to this activity. Climate change is also impacting the population although there is uncertainty of the response given the expected resilience of this taxon. It therefore qualifies as Endangered under criteria A3 and B1+2. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Northern Cape |
Range | This species is endemic to a small area of the Northern Cape province of South Africa where it is recorded from up to five locations. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Southern Richtersveld Inselberg Shrubland, Central Richtersveld Mountain Shrubland |
Description | This succulent is endemic to the Richtersveld bioregion of the Succulent Karoo biome. Plants are typically found growing in partial shade in rock cracks and crevices on quartz-rich hills or in the shade of larger shrubs. This species has a generation length of 30 years. It is expected to be sensitive to the impacts of climate change as it does not disperse and while adapted to arid conditions, is dependent on limited seasonal rainfall. Species in the genus are sensitive to long periods of drought. Drought related mortality has been observed for other closely related taxa within the genus. |
Threats |
| This particular species is not currently threatened by illegal collection but it is likely that it will become a target in coming years as there has been a dramatic increase in the number of species and volume of plants of this genus targeted since 2019. Other species from the genus within the immediate area have experienced severe declines in population number due to illegal collection.
Anthropogenic climate change is a long-term threat to this species. Loss of vegetation cover has been observed across the geographic range occupied by this species via Landsat imagery between 1984 and 2018 indicating a decline in habitat quality. While it is not possible to model the response of this species to climate change due to its restricted distribution, the average loss to climate change for 21 more widely distributed Conophytum species occurring within the same region is used as an indication of likely impact to this species. Climate models for the likely emission scenarios where emissions stay at present day levels (RCP 2.6) (Hausfather and Peters 2020) and worst case scenarios where emissions continue to increase during the 21st century (RCP 8.5) indicate that there will be a loss of suitable bioclimatic envelope of between 56% and 86% by 2080 for Conophytum taxa within the region. However, as this taxon occurs in a sheltered habitat and is found across several vegetation units it is expected to have a level of resilience to climate change and the expected population loss is reduced by 20% to 36%. Species in this genus have limited dispersal ability and migration to suitable habitats elsewhere is regarded as highly unlikely. |
Population |
There are no formal estimates of population size for this species but the number of mature individuals is likely to be less than 20,000. The number of plants in this general area have been in decline in recent years due to an extended drought and the population may be in decline. A future population decline of between 50 and 75% is suspected due to the combined impacts of climate change and illegal collection.
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Population trend | Unknown |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Conophytum fraternum (N.E.Br.) N.E.Br. | Rare | 2015.1 | | Conophytum fraternum (N.E.Br.) N.E.Br. | Least Concern | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
Bibliography |
Hammer, S. 2002. Dumpling and his wife: New view of the genus Conophytum. EAE Creative Colour, Norwich.
Hammer, S.A. 1993. The genus Conophytum: A conograph. Succulent Plant Publications, Pretoria.
Hausfather, Z. and Peters, G.P. 2020. Emissions - the 'business as usual' story is misleading. Nature 577(618-620).
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Citation |
| Young, A.J., Desmet, P.G., Ebrahim, I., Guo, D., Harrower, A., Jabar, L., Knoetze, L., Rodgerson, C., Van Wyk, P.C.V. & Mhlongo, N.N. 2023. Conophytum fraternum (N.E.Br.) N.E.Br. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2024/12/06 |
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