Acacia pendula (Weeping Myall) in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales: early explorers’ journals, database records and habitat assessments raise doubts over naturally occurring populations.

Bell, Stephen A.; Driscoll, Colin

doi:10.7751/cunninghamia.2014.14.009

Cited by 4 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(41 reference statements)

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“…A collection of Acacia pendula is held within the Kew Herbarium (London), attributed to Cunningham collecting it from 'Hunter's River' in April 1825. Bell andDriscoll (2014) briefly discussed this collection, noting observable differences between it and more typical Acacia pendula collected elsewhere. Further, in the apparent absence of diarised notes from Cunningham concerning this species in the Hunter Valley, we suggested some uncertainty in the origin of that specimen.…”

Section: Cunningham's April 1825 Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The habitat Cunningham described for the area where his Acacia pendula collection was made supported ironbark [=Eucalyptus crebra], blue gum [=Eucalyptus blakelyi], oak [=Casuarina cunninghamiana] and Appletree [=Angophora floribunda], with Acacia pendula on the 'boggy flats' . Such associated species are not typical of the species elsewhere in its range (Bell & Driscoll 2014), and indeed these species dominate remnant habitat associated with drainage lines across the bulk of the upper Hunter Valley today (pers. obs.).…”

Section: Cunningham's April 1825 Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales is legally protected as an endangered population and forms an integral part of the critically endangered Hunter Valley Weeping Myall Woodland. Previous papers have debated the place of Acacia pendula as a natural component of the Hunter Valley vegetation (Bell & Driscoll 2014Tozer & Chalmers 2015, however the entity remains legally protected. Uncertainty in its position within the naturally occurring Hunter flora stems from the paucity of observations contained in the journals of early explorers (relative to those documented for outside of the Hunter), the inconsistent database record of observations and collections over nearly 200 years of European settlement (heavily skewed to recent decades following legal protection of the species in the region), and the significantly different habitat (geology, soil, rainfall, elevation) between Hunter Valley plants and those in more westerly districts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Uncertainty in its position within the naturally occurring Hunter flora stems from the paucity of observations contained in the journals of early explorers (relative to those documented for outside of the Hunter), the inconsistent database record of observations and collections over nearly 200 years of European settlement (heavily skewed to recent decades following legal protection of the species in the region), and the significantly different habitat (geology, soil, rainfall, elevation) between Hunter Valley plants and those in more westerly districts. Hunter Valley populations are also heavily clonal and observational evidence indicates they never successfully reproduce sexually (Bell et al 2007, Bell 2018.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fortunately, long-term research presented in Orchard (2013Orchard ( , 2014 and Orchard (2013-2018b) has been progressively transcribing and releasing a vast amount of this information for researchers. At the time, Bell and Driscoll (2014) argued that nowhere in Cunningham's diaries did he make mention of Acacia pendula in the Hunter Valley, and certainly not in the abundance it is perceived to have been present by some modern-day workers. The one exception noted by us at that time was a collection of Acacia pendula made by Cunningham at 'Hunter's River' , but which we considered possibly an erroneous location and/or sufficiently morphologically distinct from that species to warrant questioning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Acacia pendula (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales: Cunningham’s collection from April 1825 and its implications

Bell

Driscoll

2023

Telopea

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Previous debate on the status of Acacia pendula A.Cunn. (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in the natural flora ofthe Hunter region of New South Wales remains unresolved. However, the discovery of a journal entry and aspecimen of Acacia pendula collected from ‘Hunter’s River’ by Allan Cunningham in April 1825 potentiallyprovide evidence for its long-term presence there. Close examination of a scan of this specimen reveals a poormatch to the lectotype for this species, and its infertile nature means that it cannot be positively identifiedusing taxonomic keys. Rediscovery of a small group of Acacia ‘pendula’ plants near to where Cunninghamtravelled in 1825 confirms the sterile and root-suckering habit of the species which is consistent with thosegrowing elsewhere in the region. Despite this find, Cunningham’s journal entry and collection provide noconfirmation that Acacia pendula naturally occurred extensively in the region (although it may have beenvery rare) but could suggest either that he had located one of the first introduced stands of the species in theregion (through indigenous people or European settlers), or that these sterile root-suckering plants representa currently un-named taxon or un-recognised hybrid. Final resolution of Hunter Valley populations of Acaciapendula s. lat. may only be attained through genetic studies.

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Section: Cunningham's April 1825 Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cunningham's April 1825 Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Acacia pendula (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales: Cunningham’s collection from April 1825 and its implications

Bell

Driscoll

2023

Telopea

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Germination of Lesser-Known Species of Acacia and Other Caesalpinioideae

Albertus Jan-Willem Vos

2024

New Perspectives on Seed Germination [Working Title]

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The subfamily Caesalpinioideae contains 5096 accepted species and 519 unplaced species according to the World Flora Online (WFO) Plant List. For the past 10 years, we have experimented with 585 taxa of Acacias and other Caesalpinioideae. These seeds have very similar germination profiles. While there has been extensive research, especially in Australia, we have only found 173 research papers for 319 taxa. Upon the time of writing, we have done 1,754 experiments. This paper proposes a return to our experiments especially for species without any known research. Our methods are based on nursery work in view of planting in the botanical garden of Château Pérouse. For this to work, we have developed a range of tools in order to create microclimates as well as substrates for the nursery and the garden. These also give the possibility of testing the response to climate change in the garden.

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Habitat of the leafless tongue orchid ('Cryptostylis hunteriana') throughout its known Australian distribution

de Lacey,

Bell,

Chamberlain

et al. 2012

Australasian Plant Conservation: Journal of the Australian Network for Plant Conservation

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Targeted surveys to detect rare or cryptic plant species and their likely habitats are an important technique; however, they are expensive and time consuming, and sometimes don't provide much useful information, especially where the threatened plant species in question has a wide distribution. Furthermore, the current rate of habitat loss for these plant species 1s sketchy or unknown; like many rare and cryptic species the Leafless Tongue Orchid is often overlooked in surveys. This project set out to improve our understanding of what conditions and habitats the Leafless Tongue Orchid prefers, and so improve the way we manage native habitats and assess development to help protect and conserve them. Description of the Leafless Tongue OrchidThe Leafless Tongue Orchid (Cryptostylis hunteriana) 1s a leafless saprophyte; only when in its reproductive phase (November to February in New South Wales and Victoria, June to August in Queensland) does it appear above eround. The species is listed as Vulnerable in NSW and at Commonwealth level. The principal threat to the species 1s disruption or loss of natural habitat through development pressures in coastal regions (NSW DECC 2005a). Lack of knowledge on preferred habitat can place species at risk in areas undergoing rapid and intensive development.Prior to this study, papers on its regional occurrence had been published (e.g. Bell 2001; Clarke et al. 2004), but there was no comprehensive, range-wide treatment. MethodsAll known records of the Leafless Tongue Orchid were extracted from state and Commonwealth databases (and other verifiable sources) across its entire range: in all, 108 sites were surveyed. At each site, full floristic data were collected within a 0.4 ha (20 x 20 m) quadrat; additional data recorded included vegetation structure, soil types, aspect and cover-abundance for all plant species.

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Acacia pendula (Weeping Myall) in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales: early explorers’ journals, database records and habitat assessments raise doubts over naturally occurring populations.

Abstract: Acacia pendula, Weeping Myall, (family Fabaceae) is the most legislatively protected plant species in

Cited by 4 publications

References 45 publications

Acacia pendula (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales: Cunningham’s collection from April 1825 and its implications

Acacia pendula (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales: Cunningham’s collection from April 1825 and its implications

Germination of Lesser-Known Species of Acacia and Other Caesalpinioideae

Habitat of the leafless tongue orchid ('Cryptostylis hunteriana') throughout its known Australian distribution

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