Persoonia pauciflora (a spreading shrub) - endangered species listing

The Scientific Committee, established under the Threatened Species Conservation Act, has made a Final Determination to list Persoonia pauciflora P.H. Weston, a spreading shrub, as an ENDANGERED SPECIES on Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Act. Listing is provided for by Part 2 of the Act.

NSW Scientific Committee - final determination

The Scientific Committee has found that:

1. The spreading shrub Persoonia pauciflora P.H. Weston (Proteaceae) is a recently discovered species that has been described by Weston 1999 [Persoonia pauciflora (Proteaceae) a new species from the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. Telopea 8(2): 159-164]. This species was formerly known as Persoonia sp. North Rothbury (P.H. Weston 2084) and the Committee made a Preliminary Determination regarding Persoonia pauciflora under its former name.

2. This shrub occurs on clay soils derived from silty sandstones of the Farley Formation in dry sclerophyll forest or woodland with a shrubby or open understorey in the Hunter Valley area. A description of Persoonia pauciflora as described by Weston follows: Spreading, apparently non-lignotuberous shrubs, 0.4 - 1.4 m high, 0.4 - 2.0 m wide; bark smooth, grey. Hairs 0.05 - 0.7 mm long, greyish, mostly antrorsely appressed but a minority being antrorsely spreading. Immature stems moderately hairy; internodes 0 - 7 (-14) mm long. Leaves alternate, linear-filiform, acuminate, (0.3-)1.7 - 3.5 cm long, (0.4-) 0.6 - 0.8 mm wide, terete when living, compressed and grooved underneath when dried, spreading to suberect and usually slightly to moderately incurved, more or less laterally symmetrical, not twisted, not pungent, bright green when fresh, olive green when dried, concolorous, sparsely to moderately hairy when immature, sparsely hairy to glabrescent when mature, smooth; venation obscure. Inflorescences growing from terminal or lateral buds, auxotelic, 1 - 9 flowered; rachis 0 - 1.1 cm long; flowers mostly subtended by reduced leaves but more distal flowers in an inflorescence sometimes subtended by full - sized leaves. Pedicels 0.7 - 2.5 mm long, antrorsely spreading, moderately hairy, green when living. Perianth actinomorphic, the tepals 4.5 - 8.0 mm long, acute, not keeled, moderately hairy on the abaxial surface, dull yellow; terminal points 0 - 0.1 mm long. Anthers lacking appendages, held close to one another and to the gynoecium at their bases but recurved at the tips, dull yellow; loculi 2.0 -4.0 mm long. Gynoecium straight, 4.0 -7.0 mm long; ovary glabrous; ovule 1. Drupes dull green or green with reddish purple striations, glabrous; pyrene broad-obovoid to broad-ellipsoid, 9.4 - 11.1 mm long, 4.6 - 5.5 mm wide. Seed 1; cotyledons 4 - 7.

3. Weston 1999 states that Persoonia pauciflora most closely resembles P. isophylla and to a lesser extent P. pinifolia. Persoonia pauciflora is most easily distinguished from these species by its inflorescence, which is fewer flowered, and shorter. Weston 1999 provides an amendment to published keys for Persoonia in order to accommodate Persoonia pauciflora.

4. Persoonia pauciflora is currently known only from near North Rothbury in the Hunter Valley. The total number of plants is approximately 400 individuals.

5. The species is threatened by grazing, clearing, habitat fragmentation and habitat degradation. The risk of extinction is high due to low population numbers. None of the population is in a formal conservation reserve.

6. In view of 1, 4 & 5 above the Scientific Committee is of the opinion that the species is likely to become extinct in nature in New South Wales unless the circumstances and factors threatening its survival or evolutionary development cease to operate.

Proposed Gazettal date: 6/8/99
Exhibition period: 6/8/99 - 10/9/99
Provisionally listed as an endangered species on 11 December 1998.