Extinct Plant species in South Africa

Extinct Plant species in South Africa - source: http://redlist.sanbi.org/
(date in brackets: last record available)
By definition, these species Red List status' will be revised if found. (So - status at time of finding)

Extinct (EX):

Psoralea cataracta Waterfall Fountainbush (1790s) - found Oct 2019 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/35563154
Leucadendron grandiflorum (1806)
Thamnea depressa (1815)
Liparia graminifolia (1829)
Disa forcipata (1870)

Barleria natalensis (1890)
Xysmalobium baurii (1890)
Brachystelma schoenlandianum (1893)
Erica foliacea subsp. fulgens (1895)
Vernonella africana (1895)

Cephalophyllum parvulum (1896)
Cyclopia filiformis (1897)
Nemesia micrantha (1897)
Aspalathus variegata (1898)
Osteospermum hirsutum (~1900)
Polhillia ignota Whocares Syrupbush (1900s) - found Nov 2016 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/11166925

Willdenowia affinis (1918)
Eugenia pusilla (1920)
Lampranthus vanzijliae (1921)
Macledium pretoriense (1925)
Psoralea gueinzii (1927)

Leucadendron spirale (1933)
Aspalathus complicata (1934) - found Oct 2020 - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/63920980
Erica alexandri subsp. acockii (1940)
Helichrysum outeniquense Joubertinia Everlasting (1947) - found 2016 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/11207312
Mimetes stokoei Mace Pagoda (1950)- re-emerged after hot fire 2000 - preiNat
Isolepis bulbifera (1950)
Aspalathus cordicarpa Heartfruit Capegorse (1950s) - found March 2016 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/11248883

Conophytum semivestitum (pre 1996)
Crassula subulata var. hispida (pre 1996)
Erica pyramidalis var. pyramidalis (pre 1996)
Macrostylis villosa subsp. minor (2002)

Ceropegia antennifera (known only from the type)
Ceropegia bowkeri (known only from the type)
.

Extinct in the Wild (EW) - only known from cultivation:

Erica verticillata (1908)
Encephalartos woodii (1916)
Erica turgida (1980s)
Encephalartos brevifoliolatus (1996)
Encephalartos nubimontanus (2004)
Erica bolusiae var. cyathiformis (2006)
Pleiospilos simulans Liver Quaggafig (2007) - found 2016 by Outramps & Oct 2015 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/11122394
.

Presumed Extinct (CR PE) - no known populations surviving:

Helictotrichon quinquesetum (1800s)
Lobelia zwartkopensis (1800s)
Aspalathus ferox (1850s)
Euryops zeyheri (1850s)
Adenia natalensis (1865)
Athanasia imbricata (1865)

Riocreuxia woodii (1879)
Kniphofia crassifolia (1880)
Cyclopia laxiflora (1890s)
Senecio hirtifolius (1895) - rediscovered Feb. 2014 see here
Albuca prolifera (1898)

Erica kraussiana (1900s)
Ixia ecklonii (1900s)
Merremia malvaefolia (1900s) - rediscovered Dec. 2015 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/11162444
Pachycarpus rostratus (1900s)
Phylica schlechteri (1900s)
Lebeckia zeyheri (1900s)

Marasmodes macrocephala (1907)
Alepidea multisecta (1910)
Albuca nana (1912)
Oxalis marlothii (1920)
Holothrix micrantha (1925)
Manulea ramulosa (1926)

Lachenalia martleyi (1929)
Riocreuxia flanaganii var. alexandrina (1930)
Oxalis pseudo-hirta (1930)
Leobordea magnifica Magnificent Leobordea (1930s) - rediscovered Nov. 2021 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/102101159
Lotononis dichiloides (1930s)
Disa newdigateae (1931)

Globulariopsis pumila (1935)
Oxalis involuta (1935)
Oxalis perineson (1935)
Oxalis fragilis Koring Sorrel (1936) - rediscovered July 2020 (?Jul 2018) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/14755491
Agathosma pallens (1940)
Agathosma propinqua (1940)
Polycarena silenoides Cape Granite Flax (1940s) - rediscovered Aug 2015 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/11071901

Tetraria paludosa (1945)
Lobelia barkerae (1947)
Lotononis racemiflora (1948)
Erepsia promontorii (1950)
Babiana foliosa (1951)
Heliophila pusilla var. lanceolata (1955) rediscovered Sep 2018 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/18252648

Euryops rosulatus (1960)
Marasmodes reflexa (1964)
Selago polycephala (1967)
Tritonia flabellifolia var. thomasiae (1968)

Pterygodium connivens (1970s)
Aspalathus amoena Bree Capegorse (1970s) - rediscovered May 2013 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/10876446
Ornithogalum hallii (1976)
Muraltia satureioides var. salteri (1980s)
Moraea minima (1981)
Agathosma involucrata (1984)

Leobordea lanata (1986)
Hesperantha saldanhae (1990s)
Amphithalea minima (2000s)
Oxalis variifolia Swartland Sorrel (2000s) - rediscovered July 2020 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/53265601
Turraea streyi (2000s - EW)

Oxalis hygrophila (2001)
Orbea elegans (2004)
Ceropegia rudatisii (2005)
Conophytum herreanthus subsp. herreanthus (2006)
Ceropegia tomentosa (2007)

Jordaaniella anemoniflora (2011 - EW)
Tulbaghia cominsii (2011)
Xysmalobium winterbergense (?)
.

.

Not seen for over 50 years (Data Deficient) and REDISCOVERED:

Amphithalea bullata (1804) - rediscovered June 2022 - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/121269190 [ID == A. cymbifolia]
.Aspalathus concava Necklace Capegorse (1896) - redicovered Nov 2013 - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/10944989
Aspalathus sulphurea Sulphur Capegorse (1940s) - redicovered Nov 2021 - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/100631437

Previously Extinct - But since taxonomically revised!

Drosanthemum insolitum L.Bolus (CR PE) - is now sunk into Drosanthemum boerhavii (Eckl. & Zeyh.) H.E.K.Hartmann
Haworthia venosa (Lam.) Haw. subsp. woolleyi (Poelln.) Halda (CR PE) - is now sunk into Haworthiopsis woolleyi (Poelln.) G.D.Rowley (CR)

(first posted on iSpot: 9 September 2015 - 10:56AM - regularly updated)

Posted on March 07, 2018 11:42 AM by tonyrebelo tonyrebelo

Comments

Comments on iSpot:

9 September 2015 - 9:38AM Douglas Euston-Brown
Aspalathus amoena was found again...

26 November 2016 - 9:32PM Jan-Hendrik
Polhillia ignota was rediscovered the other day.

Posted by tonyrebelo over 6 years ago

Helichrysum outeniquense Hilliard

http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=3240-294

Posted by leejones over 6 years ago

is on the list ...

Posted by tonyrebelo over 6 years ago

Yes - but recently rediscovered - sorry, should have been more specific

Was looking for Leucadendron grandiflorum (to find out whether anything further had happened about the controlled burn) and stumbled into this list

"H. outeniquense is a very rare and localized habitat specialist, and was thought to be extinct after not being recorded in the wild for 70 years. A small subpopulation of fewer than 30 mature individuals was recently rediscovered near the type locality. It is not suspected to be declining, but ongoing monitoring and field surveys are needed."

Posted by leejones over 6 years ago

ta - added

Posted by tonyrebelo over 6 years ago

Just to keep the list up-to-date, Pleiospilos simulans is not Extinct in the Wild (EW) - only known from cultivation -, but Critically Endangered D (http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=97-37).

Posted by detlef about 6 years ago

ta - adjusted

Posted by tonyrebelo about 6 years ago

Oxalis fragilis (2019) and variifolia (2020) have been rediscovered

Posted by mr_fab almost 4 years ago

@suvarna , and @tonyrebelo , how do we deal with Lobelia zwartkopensis = lobelia filicaulis story? do we remove it from the CR PE list?

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/196839540

Tulbaghia cominsii not CR PE but only CR

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/134283165

Trichodiadema stayner , found last year!

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/159661955

Posted by vats 6 months ago

Tulbaghia cominsii not CR PE but only CR
Of course it is not CR PE: once found it cannot be Presumed Extinct any longer, and becomes just CR.

So what is its date?
this was seen 2017 but only posted 2022 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/134283165
this is 2018: identified 2022. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/37872526

Posted by tonyrebelo 6 months ago

how do we deal with Lobelia zwartkopensis = Lobelia filicaulis?
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxon_changes/126534

Is this a valid sinking? Has it been sunk in BODATSA and the Redlist?

Posted by tonyrebelo 6 months ago

@tonyrebelo @vats

Regarding Lobelia filicaulis, perhaps I can try and describe the taxonomy situation. I am not an expert so I struggle to understand how it pans out.

The name was first published as Mezleria filicaulis by Presl in 1836. He did not designate a type but it appears that he was corresponding with Ecklon and Zeyher because they reference his description in 1837 where they do designate a reference, No. 2444 with Uitenhage as the type locality (Presl just says Cape of Good Hope).

The next mention is by De Candolle in 1838; he just restates Presl's description. In 1864 Harvey and Sonder give E&Z's location again along with a record from Natal (this turns out to be Monopsis debilis) and one "near Capetown". They mention that "Presl has only seen an imperfect specimen, communicated by Ecklon."

In 1904, under Lobelia filicaulis for the first time I could find, Bolus and Wolley-Dod mention a record of Schinz from Table Mountain in addition to the Harvey one from above. I have not found the Schinz reference. They couldn't find it in in Cape Town any event.

Schönland transfers it to Lobelia again in 1919 (he does not mention Bolus and Wolley-Dod) but only references the Zwartkops river locality.

In his revision of Campanulaceae, Wimmer then creates the name L. zwartkopensis in 1968, for the L. filicaulis of Schönland and not M. filicaulis of Presl. To the best of my understanding, he does this because he says that Schönland's name refers to something different to Presl's name. I think the confusion has something to do with the Cape Town locations but I have not been able to get to the bottom of it because Wimmer's work is not openly available. Neither is Thomas Lammers' checklist which considers L. eckloniana a synonym of L. filicaulis, further complicating matters.

There are 4 types relating to these names, two under Lobelia filicaulis and two under Lobelia zwartkopensis. All are specimens of Ecklon and Zehyer, and 3/4 have No. 2444 written on them. At face value they all seem to be the same species and are probably the same as the plants now on iNat.

My understanding is that the name has gone back to L. filicaulis because Wimmer was incorrect? I.e. that Presl's M. filicaulis was the correct original name for these plants around PE. As mentioned I haven't been able to verify Wimmer's reasoning but he writes some of it on the herbarium sheets.

Hope that helps...

P.S. There is also Lobelia dodiana which needs to be clarified in this mix, it has a relation to Laurentia radicans. Schönland considers it distinct to L. filicaulis.

Posted by pdwhugo 5 months ago

Thanks, @pdwhugo , I asked Tony Dold on this matter, as he is the one who forwarded Eric Knox's notes to me, and he didn't know of any formal taxonomic publication on this name change. His exact words: The name has been formally changed on POWO as follows: Knox, E. (2021). Personal communication on Lobelia, 1 IU Herbarium.

See: https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:143266-1#publications

I'm also not an expert in anything; I was just wondering what to call this species now!

Posted by vats 5 months ago

Contact Eric Knox for details: eknox@indiana.edu

Posted by vats 5 months ago

Aspalathus complicata - Oct 2020 - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/63920980

Should actually be 1834, specimen was collected by Drege.

Posted by mr_fab 5 months ago

So the note of it (Aspalathus complicata) last seen in 1934 is wrong?

Posted by tonyrebelo 5 months ago

Indeed, Drege was around in the 1800's. I have a few other DDD that can be listed here ITFOT

Posted by mr_fab 5 months ago

But Drege was not necessarily the last to record it ...
These are not DDDs. Worthwhile as another list?? @ish_crew DDDs - some "quests"?

Posted by tonyrebelo 5 months ago

It was only known from the Drege type, not sure how nobody saw it for 190 years growing on the road verge

Posted by mr_fab 5 months ago

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