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Scientific Name | Monsonia patersonii DC. |
Higher Classification | Dicotyledons |
Family | GERANIACEAE |
Synonyms | Sarcocaulon patersonii (DC.) G.Don, Sarcocaulon rigidum Schinz |
Common Names | Boermanskers (a), Boesmankers (a), Kersbos (a), Kersbossie (a), Kleinkersbossie (a), Maagdoring (a) |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Vulnerable A4acde |
Assessment Date | 2022/07/03 |
Assessor(s) | P.C.V. Van Wyk, N.N. Mhlongo, L. von Staden & N.A. Helme |
Justification | This species has a limited distribution in South Africa. It is declining due to severe ongoing habitat loss and degradation due to mining activities, as well as illegal collection for the ornamental succulent horticultural trade. It has also suffered declines due to an extended drought, the most severe on record, with ongoing population decline likely going forward based on predicted aridification linked to climate change for the region. Illegal collection and mining will also continue to result in ongoing future declines. An overall decline of 30-50% of the population is suspected to take place in a shifting time window starting from 1990 and ending in 2050 generation length (20 years). |
Distribution |
Endemism | Not endemic to South Africa |
Provincial distribution | Northern Cape |
Range | This species is distributed from Lüderitz in southern Namibia to Port Nolloth in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Northern Richtersveld Yellow Duneveld, Western Gariep Lowland Desert, Western Gariep Plains Desert, Noms Mountain Desert, Lower Gariep Alluvial Vegetation |
Description | It grows in sand and in rock crevices. |
Threats |
| it is severely threatened on the South African side of the Orange River by ongoing habitat loss and degradation. Outside Alexander Bay, overstocking of livestock between 2002 and 2014 resulted in severe degradation and trampling, to the extent that almost no vegetation survives. Between Bloeddrif and Sendelingsdrif, open-cast mining is causing ongoing habitat degradation, not just within mining compounds, but across surrounding areas due to mining dust blowing over the surrounding landscape and burying dwarf species such as this one. Further south, around Port Nolloth, mining is also causing ongoing habitat loss. Illegal collection for the succulent trade is an additional threat to this species, with more than 4 000 plants suspected to have been wild sourced and exported from South Africa during the period 2011 to 2018. In Namibia, this species' habitat is fairly well protected. The entire range of this species has experienced a severe drought, the worst on record, that started in 2012 and is still ongoing at the time of assessment. Ongoing aridification is projected as a result of climate change (Van Wilgen et al. 2017). |
Population |
This species has a very limited distribution in South Africa, and it is threatened across its range within this country, but it is still fairly common, particularly in the coastal areas between Port Nolloth and Alexander Bay. The subpopulations within the eastern distribution of this species' range have declined by 50-90% due to ongoing droughts in the Northern Cape that started in 2012, which intensified between 2016 and 2019, and is still ongoing at the time of assessment. This decline represents less than 20% of the South African population, and the core subpopulations are mostly still surviving but have also declined by an estimated 20%.
The population is continuous across the Orange River into Namibia, where it faces fewer threats but is suspected to be declining due to climate change.
An overall decline of 30-50% of the population is suspected to take place in a shifting time window starting from 1990 and ending in 2050 (generation length 20 years).
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Population trend | Decreasing |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Monsonia patersonii DC. | Least Concern | 2015.1 | | Sarcocaulon patersonii (DC.) G.Don | Least Concern | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
Bibliography |
Albers, F. 1996. The taxonomic status of Sarcocaulon (Geraniaceae). South African Journal of Botany 62(6):345-347.
Moffett, R.O. 1979. The genus Sarcocaulon. Bothalia 12(4):581-613.
Raimondo, D., von Staden, L., Foden, W., Victor, J.E., Helme, N.A., Turner, R.C., Kamundi, D.A. and Manyama, P.A. 2009. Red List of South African Plants. Strelitzia 25. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
Snijman, D.A. 2013. Plants of the Greater Cape Floristic Region 2: The extra Cape flora. Strelitzia 30. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
Van Wilgen, N.J. and Herbst, M. 2017. Taking stock of parks in a changing world: The SANParks Global Environmental Change Assessment. SANParks, Cape Town.
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Citation |
| Van Wyk, P.C.V., Mhlongo, N.N., von Staden, L. & Helme, N.A. 2022. Monsonia patersonii DC. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2024/12/06 |
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