Assessor: Sarah Schumann
According to the SANBI and IUCN Red List Assessments, this species is Critically Endangered due to a single small and accessible population that is under threat from ongoing horticultural demand and illegal collection as well as overstocking (Young et al. 2020; Young, 2022). Collecting pressure is likely to continue in the future as the number of species and volume of plants targeted within the genus since 2019 has increased (Young, 2022). As of 2019, this genus has become popular in trade and there is a high demand from international horticultural markets for wild collected plants as indicated by media, police reports and several online marketplace, e-commerce, and auction sites (Friedman 2021; Tshuma 2021; Trenchard 2021; Hyman 2020). Plants of this genus were among those targeted and confiscated during recent criminal prosecutions of illegal plant collecting (Majikela 2020; Myburgh 2021). There has been recorded confiscations of the tantillum species and amicorum subspecies from illegal plant collection (Confiscation Lists (2019-2021) provided by Cape Nature, SANBI Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden, SANBI Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, SANParks Sendelingsdrift Botanic Garden and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment). This suggests that this species and genus is being targeted and that this subspecies may be threatened with over-collection and habitat degradation to the point of extinction as its single location makes it highly susceptible to rapid decline (Young, 2022).
Friedman, B. 2021. 24 May 2021. South Africa targeted for rare plant poaching placing biodiversity at risk. Cape Talk. Available at: https://www.capetalk.co.za/articles/417213/south-africa-targeted-for-rare-plant-poaching-placing-biodiversity-at-risk
Hyman, A. 2020. 1 February 2020. Koreans fined R5m as poachers target SA's succulent treasure chest. Times Live. Available at: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2020-02-01-koreans-fined-r5m-as-poachers-target-sas-succulent-treasure-chest/
Majikela, M. 2020. 31 January 2020. Hefty sentencing for possession of Conophytum plants. Media Statement. South African Police Service Office of the Provincial Commissioner Western Cape. Available at: https://www.saps.gov.za/newsroommsspeechdetail.php?nid=24491
Myburgh, A. 2021. 20 January 2021. Man behind bars for possession of endangered plants (Conophytum). Media Statement South African Police Service, Office of the Provincial Commissioner North West. Available at: https://www.saps.gov.za/newsroom/msspeechdetail.php?nid=24491
Trenchard, T. 2021. 31 July 2021. In South Africa, Poachers Now Traffic in Tiny Succulent Plants. The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/31/world/africa/south-africa-poachers-tiny-succulent-plants.html
Tshuma, N. 2021. 20 May 2021. Collectors drive a spike in theft of indigenous plants in the Western Cape. IOL. Available at: https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/news/collectors-drive-a-spike-in-theft-of-indigenous-plants-in-the-western-cape-e120f529-741b-43a7-8454-cb8f69544878
Young, A.J., Van Wyk, P.C.V. & Raimondo, D. 2020. Conophytum tantillum N.E.Br. subsp. amicorum S.A.Hammer & Barnhill. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version 2020.1.
Young, A. 2022. (assessment in prep 2022) Conophytum tantillum subsp. amicorum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
This taxon has extent of occurrence of 4 km², is known from one location and has a single subpopulation thought to consist of less than 2,000 mature individuals (Young, 2022). At least 1,000 plants have been removed from habitat between 2019-2021 with more likely to have been harvested but not intercepted (Young, 2022).
Young, A. 2022. (assessment in prep 2022) Conophytum tantillum subsp. amicorum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Whole individuals are recorded in confiscations.
The range restriction and size of this species makes this species extremely vulnerable population loss and to over-collection to the point of extinction (Young et al. 2020, Young & Desmet 2016). Regeneration potential for the vast majority of the Conophytum genus is very poor as recruitment is low and dependent on successive, appropriate weather conditions. Seeds are not known to disperse. Regeneration will take decades. (Young, personal communication 2021, 5 October)
Young, A.J. and Desmet, P.G., 2016. The distribution of the dwarf succulent genus Conophytum NE Br.(Aizoaceae) in southern Africa. Bothalia-African Biodiversity & Conservation, 46(1), pp.1-13.
Young, A.J., Van Wyk, P.C.V. & Raimondo, D. 2020. Conophytum tantillum N.E.Br. subsp. amicorum S.A.Hammer & Barnhill. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version 2020.1.