Assessment Notes

Justification

Cantharellus ruber has been recorded from several countries in the region of the Zambezian miombo woodland. With such a wide range and no major threats that could be driving significant rates of decline across its entire range, this species is assessed as Least Concern.

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Geographic range

Cantharellus ruber is a species of Zambezian miombo woodland. It has been recorded from Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Zambia and Zimbabwe (e.g. Heinemann 1966, Buyck and Nzigidahera 1995, GBIF.org 2021). It is assumed that it could also occur elsewhere where there is suitable habitat.

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Population and Trends

While the species is considered 'not common' in some parts of its range (Buyck and Nzigidahera 1995), with such a wide range it is still considered to be relatively numerous. There are ongoing threats to miombo woodland, and so the species is suspected to be in decline.

Population Trend: decreasing

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Habitat and Ecology

The genus Cantharellus consists of species forming ectomycorrhizal associations with trees. This species occurs in miombo woodland, particularly shaded or humid areas (e.g. De Kesel et al. 2017). It occurs in areas dominated by a range of species (see De Kesel et al. 2017).

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Threats

There are ongoing threats to miombo woodland including logging, and land conversion to agriculture (see Jew et al. 2016).

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Conservation Actions

Further surveys to get a clearer idea of the ecology and the full distribution of the species would be beneficial.

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Use and Trade

This species is eaten, but in some parts of its range it is considered inedible (Buyck and Nzigidahera 1995, De Kesel et al. 2017)

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Source and Citation

Westrip, J.R.S. 2022. Cantharellus ruber. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T217821763A217822703. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T217821763A217822703.en .Accessed on 22 December 2023

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• Country occurrence