Hortis Supports a Species on the Brink of Extinction
Featured photo: Semi mature Syzygium glenum seeds growing in the NCRBG, captured by Cheryl Cooper - Friends of the Coffs Harbour Botanic Garden
Syzygium glenum, a critically endangered tree species, is endemic to the Cooper Creek area of the Daintree Rainforest in Northeastern Australia. With as few as 12 known mature specimens remaining in the wild, its survival is precarious. Natural regeneration is further hindered by its now infrequent fruiting cycle, which occurs only every 7 to 11 years, drastically limiting seed dispersal and population recovery.
In a remarkable turn of events, a rainforest revegetation nursery on the Atherton Tablelands, alerted the North Coast Regional Botanic Garden (NCRBG) in Coffs Harbour to the conservation significance of two mature, fruiting Syzygium glenum specimens growing within the garden. Thanks to Hortis, these trees were swiftly located within the 20-hectare garden, allowing immediate practical action to be taken to assist.
Over the past twelve months, NCRBG’s membership with Hortis has transformed the way its living plant collection is managed. Legacy records, previously stored in aging computers and defunct databases, have been successfully onboarded to Hortis. What was once a specialised and laborious task of cross-referencing hand-drawn maps with paper records is now well on the way to being streamlined into a secure, easily accessible digital system.
A dedicated team of Friends of the Gardens volunteers is actively ground-truthing the data, field validating the condition of the trees, and capturing photographic records to further enhance the reliability of the records on Hortis. Their work ensures that up-to-date, accurate information is readily available not only for management but for research, development and conservation initiatives.
Hortis facilitated crucial historical insights on the provenance of these trees and how they came to be part of the collection. Records stored within the platform revealed that these Syzygium glenum specimens were originally received in 2004 and 2006, from renowned botanist Lyndley Craven (CSIRO Canberra), the original author of the species. Remarkably, one of these trees has defied the odds by fruiting annually—an anomaly when compared to its wild counterparts.
“You can almost hear the two old botanists, Alex Floyd and Lyndley Craven, strategically colluding 20 years ago, knowing that these plantings may become significant in the future,” said Rhonda Sorensen, Volunteer Coordinator of the Living Plant Collection Records at NCRBG.
Recognizing the importance of this reliable fruiting event, NCRBG took proactive steps to support conservation efforts. Viable seeds from the fruiting specimen have been sent to the Daintree Rainforest Rescue Nursery at Cow Bay, where they will be propagated and reintroduced into their native habitat recognised as being on Eastern Kuku Yalanji country. Additional seeds have also been distributed to ex-situ revegetation nurseries on the Atherton Tablelands to further safeguard the species.
Plans are also underway in the Coffs Harbour Botanic Gardens to enhance seed collection, propagation, and broader conservation efforts to hopefully bring this species back from the brink of extinction.
The seamless accessibility of plant data through Hortis played a pivotal role in this conservation initiative. By ensuring that vital information about threatened species like Syzygium glenum is readily available and actionable, Hortis supports botanic gardens, nurseries, and conservation groups in their mission to preserve biodiversity for future generations.
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