What started out as a drive round the Nuwejaars Wetlands Special Management Area, ended with the discovery of a fynbos species new to science.
It has now been confirmed that the Nuwejaarsrivier Wetlands Special Management Area (NWSMA) is home to a new species of Cyrtanthus, called the Cyrtanthus novus-annus (Latin for Nuwejaars). Locally it has been called the Nuwejaars Lily.
The pretty pink and white flowered plants have only been found in two locations – both of them in the NWSMA.
With fewer than 250 plants in total, covering an area of less than 5 km², it’s likely that the new Cyrtanthus will be classified as Endangered on the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) Red List once assessed.
Cyrtanthus expert Dr Dee Snijman, who described the new species, said: “The species epithet honours the recent restoration of biodiversity in the Nuwejaars Wetlands area.”
The NWSMA covers an area of 47 000 ha, with Critically Endangered Fynbos and irreplaceable wetlands and rivers crisscrossing the landscape.
The farmers, who are members of the NWSMA, have appointed a team of conservationists to help restore and manage these land- and waterscapes.
In a botanical twist, the Cyrtanthus novus-annus is seen as a sister species to the Critically Endangered Cyrtanthus guthrieae (the Bredasdorp Lily), given their resemblance and their reasonably close proximity to each other.
The Bredasdorp Lily only occurs on the mountains above the town, with a population also of around 250 plants. There’s only one other example of a sister pair in the Amaryllidaceae family near Wellington.