The Morton Arboretum’s Post

Home gardeners to accidental citizen scientists. 💚 Today marks #ThreatenedSpeciesDay, a day to raise awareness of plants and animals at risk of extinction, like Wollemi pine. Wollemi pine is a critically endangered Australian tree, which only grows wild in a small area northwest of Sydney. It was recognised as new to science in 1994, and for the next decade it was grown only in botanic gardens, sometimes even in protective cages to prevent theft. In 2005, due to huge public interest, Wollemi pine was made available to home gardeners around the world. Together with Botanic Gardens of Sydney, we've now surveyed these accidental citizen scientists, asking about their experiences growing Wollemi pine to discover the best conditions. Conservationists could then use this information to select sites for planting Wollemi pine to expand its current range in the wild or in botanic gardens around the world. We received more than 1500 responses from 31 countries, sharing not only their growing conditions but in some cases, how much this beautiful rare tree means to them. 🤗 Find out more about this accidental citizen science success: https://lnkd.in/gzR8Usxx

Do you wonder about the role of botanic gardens, zoos, and aquariums in species conservation? Check this out!

What is this striking plant? 🏵️ Found only in East Anglia’s fens and critically endangered, this is the yellow early marsh orchid - one of Britain’s rarest orchid species! Fen orchids are unique because they don’t usually grow in soil. Instead, they grow on clumps of moss or on sedge tussocks in wet areas called fens. This way of growing is similar to how tropical orchids grow on trees. In 2010, only 11 yellow early marsh orchids remained in the UK. But through funding from Natural England's Species Recovery Programme and collaboration with Plantlife International and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, significant progress has been made. Biologists at Kew Gardens carried out pioneering new research, enabling the successful reintroduction of 68 plants to a former site in East Anglia in 2020. Today, the total population has surpassed 100 – a testament to the power of conservation and collaboration. 📷: Tim Pankhurst, Plantlife #SpeciesRecovery #SpeciesRecoveryProgramme #ConservationSuccess #Orchid #EastAnglia

Is this Australia's Loneliest Tree?   Australia's precious Mongarlowe mallee, also known as the 'ice age gum,' is on the brink of extinction, but there's hope for its survival! 🙏 Once thriving during the last ice age, this remarkable eucalyptus tree is now down to just six known survivors, spread across a 30-kilometer range, too far apart for natural reproduction. But here's the exciting part: The NSW government's 'Saving our Species' team, led by John Briggs and Genevieve Wright, has been working tirelessly for over two decades to save these ancient trees. These unique trees can live for thousands of years, and one has been estimated to be around 3,000 years old! 😲🌳 In a groundbreaking effort, after two decades of waiting, two trees finally flowered at the same time last year. The team hand-pollinated them, and now, for the first time in potentially thousands of years, the Mongarlowe mallee is bearing seeds! 🌸🌿 These seeds have been sent to the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra for cultivation. If successful, we might see these incredible trees reintroduced into the wild and even into our gardens! 🏡🌲 📷 NSW Department of Planning and Environment #IceAgeGum #MongarloweMallee #ConservationEfforts #SaveOurTrees #RareEucalyptus

🌵The extreme heat wave has impacted many parts of the world this past summer and has been detrimental to the saguaros like those at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona. Garden scientists propagated seeds from a wild saguaro, known to live in some of the harshest conditions in Arizona and thrive. This is one of the current conservation efforts at the Garden to add genetic diversity to the Garden’s saguaro population. Several have already sprouted into seedlings and resemble green jellybeans with spiky heads. The seeds can germinate quickly, from one to three days, when soaked in water overnight before sowing. However, they can take decades to reach maturity and produce flowers and fruits. Visit the Garden’s website to learn more about how scientists are saving the saguaros: https://lnkd.in/gAAQ2Fh6 #GardenADay #GoPublicGardens #PublicGarden #PublicGardens #supportlocalgardens #communitygardens #DesertBotanicalGarden #saguaros #cactus #Arizona #heatwave

Completed a flora species richness survey conducted by 10X10 metres quadrats at Anglesea heathland to study whether different fire history affects plant species. It was such an amazing team effort where we can share and learn from each other. We managed to identify 40 species on one of the quadrats in site 1 and 54 species in site 2. Picture 1: Setting up the quadrat in site 2 where slash and burn has been completed recently. Picture 2: Mayfly Orchid, Achianthus caudatus, being abundant on site 2. Picture 3: Snail Greenhood, Pterostylis nana. Picture 4: The sandy heathland on site 1 was dominated by Messmate Stringybark, Eucalyptus obliqua. Picture 5: Pink bells, Tetratheca ciliata, on site 1. Pucture 6: Tiny Dragon Springtail, Acanthanura sp.

The natural world is constantly threatened, with numerous species teetering on the brink of extinction. But did you know that botanic gardens, aquariums, and zoos play many critical roles in reversing this trend? 🌏We recognize the incredible contributions of these institutions to species conservation. From the Kihansi spray toad to the pink pigeon, tequila splitfin, café marron, and many more species have been pulled back from the abyss by the dedicated efforts of these organizations. 🌱 We encourage these institutions to embrace their full potential and for partners around the world to work with them as essential members of the global conservation community. Together, we can ensure the survival of Earth's incredible biodiversity. 📖 Read our complete Position Statement on the role of botanic gardens, aquariums, and zoos in species conservation. 🌐👉 ow.ly/8KCH50PVnNr #SpeciesSurvival #CommissionStatement #SSCstatement #ConservationWorks #BotanicGardens #Aquariums #Zoos #SpeciesConservation

ArborNote’s Tree of the Week is the Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis), although it has “pine” in the name, it is not actually related to the pine family. The Wollemi Pine is the last living species of the genus, and was only rediscovered in 1944 in a remote area of Australia after it was thought to be extinct. The bark is very distinctive, dark brown, and knobbly, and resembles the cereal Coco Pops. They are slow-growing, but some are estimated to have lived for 500 - 1,000 years! These trees are critically endangered and legally protected in Australia. After many years of being closely guarded, there is a push from botanists to distribute cuttings of the tree more widely across the world, as there are multiple places that could support a population of Wollemi Pines. This could help keep this amazing species off the endangered list! #treecareindustry #ArboristLife #arborist #treecareservices #TreeCareExperts #treecare

📢 DES Scientists Discover New Species of Lomandra Dr Jian Wang from Queensland’s Herbarium has recently described a new species of Lomandra, which has been named 'Lomandra beaniana' in honour of Mr Tony Bean, a taxonomist and botanist at the Herbarium for over 40 years. Lomanadras are native Australian plants with strappy or grass-like leaves. Lomandra beaniana is found in south east Queensland and northern New South Wales. It is a small, tufted plant with narrow, linear leaves and cream-coloured flowers. 👉 It is the first Lomandra species to be described from south east Queensland in over 20 years 👉 It is closely related to Lomandra brevis and Lomandra brittanii, but can be distinguished by its smaller size, narrower leaves, and cream-coloured flowers (the other two species have white flowers). 👉 Lomandra beaniana is found in a variety of habitats, including open forests, woodlands, and grasslands. 👉It is a food source for a variety of animals, including birds, lizards, and insects. This new discovery is a testament to the dedication and expertise of DES scientists like Dr Wang. It has helped us better understand diversity of Lomandra species in Australia and provides new info about its distribution and habitat. Well done to Dr Wang and team. 👏 #qldscience

The delightful Bloomfield Penda (Xanthostemon verticillatus) forming a small wreath of pale creamy-yellow stamens, petals and green calyces within the Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens. Note also the whorled leaves (verticillatus - Latin for whorled or rings around a stem), an unusual feature for the genus Xanthostemon. Bloomfield Penda is a multi-stemmed shrub reaching between 1.5 and 3m tall. Growing in rocky river channels and bouldery stream beds subject to consistent, high-velocity flows, this species is restricted both to this narrow riverine habitat and to localised areas of the Bloomfield and Daintree Rivers in far north Queensland. Much less well-known than the commonly planted street tree Xanthostemon chrysanthus (Golden Penda), this species has obvious horticultural appeal.