http://www.smh.com.au/environment/dont-rock-the-boat-rediscovery-of-plant-kept-under-wraps-as-project-approved-20170127-gtzrf3.html

A plant not seen alive for almost two centuries has been found on Sydney’s south-west fringe, the discovery revealed only after a project proposed for the area won planning approval.

Greg Hunt, the former Federal environment minister, approved for the SIMTA Moorebank Intermodal Terminal Facility in March, 2014, but imposed conditions on the rail freight plan, including a “targeted search” for an endangered species of hibbertia flowering plants.

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If you look at the distribution on the map, it seems unlikely that the plant only exists in the search area.

dv said:

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/dont-rock-the-boat-rediscovery-of-plant-kept-under-wraps-as-project-approved-20170127-gtzrf3.html

A plant not seen alive for almost two centuries has been found on Sydney’s south-west fringe, the discovery revealed only after a project proposed for the area won planning approval.

Greg Hunt, the former Federal environment minister, approved for the SIMTA Moorebank Intermodal Terminal Facility in March, 2014, but imposed conditions on the rail freight plan, including a “targeted search” for an endangered species of hibbertia flowering plants.

——

If you look at the distribution on the map, it seems unlikely that the plant only exists in the search area.

Soil types, drainage and surrounding vegetation usually determine distribution of plants. If other similar habitats have been destroyed or built upon, then the distribution shown is reasonable. In order to reproduce, plants of the same species need to gather together for genetic diversity.

dv said:

If you look at the distribution on the map, it seems unlikely that the plant only exists in the search area.

It all looks very misleading AFAICT.

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspeciesapp/profile.aspx?id=20323

NSW Environment Dept’s page states

The areas shown in pink and/purple are the sub-regions where the species or community is known or predicted to occur. They may not occur thoughout the sub-region but may be restricted to certain areas…The information presented in this map is only indicative and may contain errors and omissions.

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspeciesapp/profile.aspx?id=20323

Plantnet appears to highlight the entire Sydney Metro region but does provides a link to AVH (Australia’s Virtual Herbarium)’s map, which shows a single location only, being the site that the SMH article was referring to.

http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Hibbertia~fumana

http://avh.ala.org.au/occurrences/search?q=lsid%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fid.biodiversity.org.au%2Fnode%2Fapni%2F2888438&qc=data_hub_uid:dh2&fq=country%3A%22Australia%22#tab_mapView

Speedy said:

dv said:

If you look at the distribution on the map, it seems unlikely that the plant only exists in the search area.

It all looks very misleading AFAICT.

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspeciesapp/profile.aspx?id=20323

NSW Environment Dept’s page states

The areas shown in pink and/purple are the sub-regions where the species or community is known or predicted to occur. They may not occur thoughout the sub-region but may be restricted to certain areas…The information presented in this map is only indicative and may contain errors and omissions.

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspeciesapp/profile.aspx?id=20323

Plantnet appears to highlight the entire Sydney Metro region but does provides a link to AVH (Australia’s Virtual Herbarium)’s map, which shows a single location only, being the site that the SMH article was referring to.

http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Hibbertia~fumana

http://avh.ala.org.au/occurrences/search?q=lsid%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fid.biodiversity.org.au%2Fnode%2Fapni%2F2888438&qc=data_hub_uid:dh2&fq=country%3A%22Australia%22#tab_mapView

Usually with rare plant species, the exact location is not mentioned to stop vandalism or people collecting them. Distribution maps are restricted by scale or to general localities. If a species has not been recorded further afield than specified, especially around a built up area, then it is highly unlikely that it exists elsewhere, although they surprisingly do pop up a considerable distance away. Herbaria have extensive collections of all flora within their domain, so very unusual not to have on record, any unknown or lost species, although if a species has not been collected within the past 50 years, it is presumed extinct, which in practice is more applicable to areas near human habitation.

> A plant not seen alive for almost two centuries has been found on Sydney’s south-west fringe

Australia is apparently notorious for species going missing for more than a century, being rediscovered, being declared out of danger and then disappearing without a trace.

But “two centuries” would probably be an all time record. There weren’t all that many biologists around in Australia 200 years ago.

If populations do exist elsewhere within those distribution maps, they will probably be on private land and go undiscovered before they are cleared for buildings, lawns and agapanthus. The inclusion of the plant communities they are predicted to occur in on the OEH map looks odd, but is not surprising, given their push for development ATM.

mollwollfumble said:

> A plant not seen alive for almost two centuries has been found on Sydney’s south-west fringe

Australia is apparently notorious for species going missing for more than a century, being rediscovered, being declared out of danger and then disappearing without a trace.

But “two centuries” would probably be an all time record. There weren’t all that many biologists around in Australia 200 years ago.

Botanists rather than biologists, and yes there were quite a few of them including many amateurs. Problems arise when greater research especially into genera is undertaken, as often new species have been lumped into more common ones, which when later discovered may have gone extinct or be also found elsewhere.

Speedy said:

If populations do exist elsewhere within those distribution maps, they will probably be on private land and go undiscovered before they are cleared for buildings, lawns and agapanthus. The inclusion of the plant communities they are predicted to occur in on the OEH map looks odd, but is not surprising, given their push for development ATM.

I think the problem with this species, is that it is easily confused with several others, which makes accurate identification difficult. The publicity is probably in the hope that collectors will look more closely at Hibbertia spp. to discover if it is more widespread.