Posted on September, 26 2001
The plant is a member of the Solanaceae or nightshade family - the same family as the potato, tomato and eggplant. Found on a roadside remnant of rainforest near Kingaroy by local members of the Society for Growing Australian Plants, the plant has been confirmed by the Queensland Herbarium as a new species.
"From a botanical point of view this is a discovery that ranks with the Wollemi pine but aesthetically, it's probably not as appealing. However, from a bush regenerator's point of view, it's an exciting, important new species because of its ability to stablize and colonize degraded areas," says Caroline Haskard, founder of the Kingaroy branch of the SGAP.
She describes the as yet unnamed plant as "spikey with very pretty red prickles and lilac flowers and purple new growth." Preliminary botanical surveys indicate that the plant is possibly only found in this area, known locally as the Semgreen Valley.
The site where the new species was discovered is one of 33 rainforest remnants in Queensland which are managed through WWF Australia's highly successful Rainforest Recovery program. Keryn Hyslop, WWF Australia's Rainforest Recovery Officer has identified the site as a threatened ecosystem and essential habitat for conservation of the threatened black-breasted button quail - the only rainforest quail in the world.
The two hectare remnant, located on the border of the Kingaroy and Nanango shires, is an important surviving example of dry rainforest known as "South Burnett scrubs," she says "The region around Kingaroy, Nanango and Murgon was once covered extensively with dry rainforest unique to the area, particularly hoop pine and bottle trees scrubs. These rainforests, known as South Burnett scrubs, were very different to the better known moister rainforest typical of the higher rainfall coastal areas," says Ms Hyslop. With financial assistance from the Natural Heritage Trust, WWF has provided funding and on-ground support for Kingaroy members of the SGAP, helping to fence, weed, replant and manage the Semgreen site.
WWF has also helped lodge a request for the site to be re-zoned by Kingaroy and Nanango councils as an environmental reserve. It is currently listed as a roadside reserve but Nanango council and the Queensland Department of Natural Resources are working to protect the area through rezoning it as an Environment Reserve. The site has been surveyed and a final plan is being prepared for the rezoning.
Originally part of privately conserved rainforest on Mr Alan Semgreen's dairy farm, the site became an isolated fragment as a result of council subdivisions in the 1960s. Mr Semgreen requested the land be kept intact as a public reserve, but 20 years later an area was cleared by council to extract gravel. Following protests by Mr Semgreen, quarrying was halted but degradation of the site continued until recently when local residents formed an action group to stop the destruction. However, they were informed by authorities that the site was too small and inconsequential to merit conservation status.
The 44 member Kingaroy branch of the SGAP approached WWF for advice and with Keryn Hyslop's assistance, the site became the first Land for Wildlife to be registered in the area.
"WWF staff have been very supportive and if it wasn't for WWF, our project may never have got off the ground - no one else thought it important enough," says Ms Haskard. Ms Hyslop says the site, known as Semgreen Road, demonstrates the importance of mosaic remnants in conserving genetic material as well as wildlife habitat.
"It is important not to underestimate the potential value of small areas of land especially when dealing with endangered ecosystems. This remnant is small but has proven to be highly valuable habitat for significant species including the new solanum highly valuable as a central piece of the remaining rainforest in the area," she says.
For further information: Rosslyn Beeby WWF Australia Media, email: rbeeby@wwf.org.au
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