Rare plant searches

In 2009, Wombat Forestcare developed a project based around locating rare and threatened plant species in the Wombat Forest.

Biodiversity officers in Department of Environment and Sustainability (DSE) provided information on plants for which they had records but had been unable to locate.

Searches for Satinwood (Nematolepis squamea) were unsuccessful, and it is thought to have been lost from the Wombat Forest.

Wombat Leafless Bossiaea (Bossiaea vombata)

Searches for Wombat Leafless Bossiaea (Bossiaea vombata) were successful. Four plants were located. Due to the rhizomatous nature of their root system, each plant covers a reasonably large area. There are only five plants known to exist in the wild on our planet and it is now listed as critically endangered under the FFG Act.

 

 

 

In a recently published paper “Embracing biodiversity: multispecies population genomics of leafless Bossiaea species shows novel taxa, population dynamics and conservation strategies” Eilish McMaster et al. identified an entirely new population of the Bossiaea vombata, which was previously thought to occur only in the Wombat State Forest (Victoria).

MORE INFORMATION

 

 

 

 

 

 

DOWNLOAD Embracing biodiversity: multispecies population genomics of leafless Bossiaea species shows novel taxa, population dynamics and conservation strategies
C/o publish.csiro.au/sb/pdf/SB23031

 

Spotted Hyacinth Orchid (Dipodium pardalinum)

The Spotted Hyacinth Orchid is listed as endangered under the FFG Act and is found throughout the Wombat Forest in summer.

For most of the year, plants are dormant and have no above-ground presence. Flower spikes between 40 and 90 cm in height appear between December and March.

Wombat Forestcare members survey for this species and enter the records on the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas.

 

 

Swamp Bush-pea (Pultenaea weindorferi)

The Swamp Bush-pea is listed as endangered under the FFG Act. Wombat Forestcare members have undertaken surveys for this plant without success. There is one known location in the Wombat Forest and a very large population in the Lerderderg State Park.

 

Wiry River Rose (Bauera rubioides)

The Wiry River Rose is not a threatened species but has only been located in a few locations near Lyonville in the Wombat Forest. It has only been found in the Wombat Forest in the west of the state and is a regionally significant plant.