There has been some habitat loss due to agricultural activities, expansion of human habitation and logging for firewood and timber. The major direct threat to the species is the exploitation of its bark, stems and roots for use in traditional medicinal practices as a treatment of head and chest ailments and also to cure people who are bewitched. This has led to the near extinction of the species in KwaZulu-Natal, parts of Mpumalanga, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.
Name
Emma Hemmerlé
Scientific Name
Warburgia salutaris
Common Name(s)
Pepper-bark tree
Type of Use
Extractive (i.e., the entire organism or parts of the organism are removed from its environment)
If extractive, for the target species, is this use
Non-Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of
Only parts or products of the organism (e.g., feathers, leaves, branches, eggs, nuts)
Are specific characteristics/traits being targeted?
Unknown/not recorded
Purpose of Use
Largescale commercial exploitation for trade
Additional Details (if available)
‘pepper-bark’ (referring to the peppery taste of its bark and leaves), is a popular traditional medicine that is utilised and traded throughout southern Africa (Marshall 1998). The bark, rootbark and leaves have been recorded as being used for over 20 different purposes
What is the main end use for any living organisms, parts or products taken/extracted?
Five commercially harvested and 8 protected populations were sampled; Some of the protected populations were located in Limpopo Province (as in Mpumalanga, a single protected population of the tree was identified).
Local people (e.g., individuals, communities, co-operatives)
National / local private sector
International private sector
Is the use part of a strategy to generate conservation incentives, to finance conservation, or to improve tolerance/stewardship?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting the conservation status of the species? HIDE
Yes – use is negatively affecting the status (e.g., population is declining; extraction effort is increasing)
Is there evidence that the use is affecting natural selection?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting poaching of illegal wildlife trade?
Unknown/not reported
Is there any evidence that this use of the species is having a knock-on effect on the status of non-target species
Unknown/not recorded
Unknown/not recorded
Details of assessment carried out
Commercially harvested populations should be better managed through improved harvesting techniques and monitoring. Cultivation levels urgently need to be increased.
Has a valuation of financial flows from this use at the site/national/international level been recorded
Botha, J., Witkowski, E. & Shackleton, C. The impact of commercial harvesting on Warburgia salutaris (‘pepper-bark tree’) in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Biodiversity and Conservation 13, 1675–1698 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BIOC.0000029333.72945.b0
The basal diameters and heights of stems in commercially harvested populations were significantly lower than those of the protected populations; In this study, 75% of heavily harvested stems (>10% of the stem below 2 m) coppiced (resprouted). However, individuals that had been affected by regular fires, or repeatedly harvested, appeared prone to a fungal disease and had a high percentage mortality.
Threats/pressures impacting the species at the scale of this record