Pancratium centrale

Habitat loss is thought to be the main threat to Pancratium centrale. Satellite imagery of Ngaondere, the only known locality in Cameroon, shows that urban land areas have almost doubled in size between 1985 and 2021 (Google Earth, 2021); population estimates for Ngaondere have nearly quadrupled between 1976 and 2005 (RurbanAfrica, 2013). Overgrazing, overpopulation, agricultural expansion, and exploitation of woodlands have reduced and degraded the available natural habitat in the Adamawa Region (Tchobsala et al., 2010). The P. centrale subpopulation at Asosa, Ethiopia, faces similar threats from urban expansion and the burning of natural habitat for agricultural use.

Satellite imagery of Dango in Sudan shows agricultural fields in the area where the only specimen of P. centrale from Sudan was collected in 1977. Overgrazing in the wider Zalingei District is also a potential threat (Abusuwar and Mohammed, 2011; Hegazy et al., 2020). The village of Kom, Chad, is surrounded by agricultural fields with little natural grassland remaining within the immediate vicinity (Google Earth, 2021). It is not known if P. centrale occurs naturally in this area as herbarium specimens only exist from cultivated plants collected in the early 1900s; there are no records to determine its continued cultivation. The precise collecting localities from other Chad specimens are uncertain, however, Chevalier noted that he did not find the plant in a spontaneous state (Chevalier, 1935).

Threats to this species at Yalinga in the Central African Republic, are unknown, however, the first and last collections occurred in 1921 and 1922 respectively, and its continued presence is uncertain. 

No specific conservation measures or management plan are in place for this species. It is not known to occur in any protected areas (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2021). This species is not known from any ex situ collections (BGCI 2021).