Extinct Protea Species

More than one-third of protea species are listed in the Red data book of plants, which lists species threatened or potentially threatened by mankind. Amongst our proteas some 35 species are considered to be Endangered with extinction", and a further 46 species are Vulnerable to extinction. The former category is used for species in imminent danger of extinction, whereas the latter is used for species that will become extinct if the threats to which they are exposed continue unabated. Another 76 species are listed as "Rare" because their small population or limited distribution range would make them vulnerable if their habitat were to be developed or transformed in any way. The following three species are extinct both in the wild and in cultivation. Mace Pagoda (Mimetes stokoei) - Thomas Stokoe discovered this species in 1922, but did not remember where he had seen it. Three years later, however, he found its flowers for sale in the Adderley Street market, and the flower-picker led him to the only population ever known: in the Highlands State Forest above Kleinmond. It is not known precisely why the species became extinct, but the following hypothesis seems likely. The exact locality was kept a close secret, and only after the area had been bucket to set up an experimental orchard in the early 1960s was it realized that the habitat of M. stokoei had probably been destroyed. A single plant grew from seed in the soil and a tripod was erected to protect it. Ironically, wind broke the plant against the tripod before it had a chance to flower. The species has not been seen again. Wynberg Conebush (Leucadendron grandiflorum)- L. grandiflorum was described in 1806 only from a male plant ldgran.jpg (15027 bytes)grown in George Hibbert s garden in England. No herbarium specimen has been found, so a description and a drawing are the only existing evidence that this species once occurred. Seed was collected on Wynberg Mountain (presumably Wynberg Hill by James Niven in about 1800, and no plant has been seen since. Nothing else is known about this species, although it is clearly related to the Crown Conebushes. However, some confusion has been caused by the name L. grandiflorum having also been given to what is now L. tinctum and allied species in the Sun Conebush grouping. Diminutive Powderpuff (Sorocephalus tenuifolius) - The runt of the Powderpuffs (or Clusterheads), not only is this species difficult to see in the wild, but it can also be easily mistaken for Palmiet Unispoon - Spatalla prolifera. It was first collected by James Niven in about 1800 in alpine, moist places near the Breede River , and was subsequently grown in George Hibbert s garden, near Clapham, in England. Christian Krauss also collected it in stony ground near Elim . Both these localities are considered erroneous as they have not been relocated. In about the 1940s Thomas Stokoe found a population of S. tenuifolius on the farm Arieskraal in the Palmiet River Valley near Elgin. This population, comprising about 700 plants, was ploughed up in 1985 for an apple orchard. The Cape Department of Nature Conservation rescued and grew some plants, giving them to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. Unfortunately they did not survive and it was believed that the species became totally extinct in 1987.