Gastrolobium spinosum LC Taxonomic Authority: Benth. Global Assessment Regional Assessment Region: Global Endemic to region Synonyms Common Names PRICKLY POISON English (Primary) Upper Level Taxonomy Kingdom: PLANTAE Phylum: TRACHEOPHYTA Class: MAGNOLIOPSIDA Order: FABALES Family: LEGUMINOSAE Lower Level Taxonomy Rank: Infra- rank name: Plant Hybrid Subpopulation: Authority: This is an extremely variable species, in both leaf shape and size. It resembles Gastrolobium aculeatum, G. euryphyllum, G. triangulare, G. trilobum and G. wonganensis. There are several known varieties. General Information Distribution Gastrolobium spinosum is endemic to Australia, distributed in the state of Western Australia. Range Size Elevation Biogeographic Realm Area of Occupancy: Upper limit: 520 Afrotropical Extent of Occurrence: Lower limit: Antarctic Map Status: Depth Australasian Upper limit: Neotropical Lower limit: Oceanian Depth Zones Palearctic Shallow photic Bathyl Hadal Indomalayan Photic Abyssal Nearctic Population Total population size is not known but it was recently collected in 2008. Total Population Size Minimum Population Size: Maximum Population Size: Habitat and Ecology This prickly bushy to erect shrub grows in a wide range of habitats, from sand plains to mountain escarpment, on sandy soils to clay-loam soils in forest, woodland, malee and heathland. It is pollinated by insects and it is higly toxic to stock (Chandler et al. 2002). Mostly found in small colonies a little inland on heavier soils particularly with a rocky substrate, but usually within the agricultural zone (Archer 2009). System Movement pattern Crop Wild Relative Terrestrial Freshwater Nomadic Congregatory/Dispersive Is the species a wild relative of a crop? Marine Migratory Altitudinally migrant Growth From Definition Shrub - large Perennial shrub (>1m), also termed a Phanerophyte (>1m) Threats There are no major threats known to this species. This genus is highly toxic to stock which led to an eradication program in the wheat-belt region in Western Australia. Also in agricultural areas, fertilisers and herbicides greatly affected the species of this genus, by changing the nutrients in the soils and impeeding seed germination respectively. Most of the natural habitat of this region has been cleared for agriculture and farmland. Past Present Future 1 Habitat Loss/Degradation (human induced) 1.1 Agriculture 1.1.1 Crops 1.1.4 Livestock 5 Persecution 5.1 Pest control 6 Pollution (affecting habitat and/or species) 6.2 Land pollution 6.2.1 Agriculture Conservation Measures Across its range, several populations of this species occur within protected areas. Most notably known from Stirling Range National Park, Woondowing Nature Reserve and Avon Valley National Park. Several areas where this species occurs are undergoing restoration plans, Peniup Restoration Plan (Jonson 2009) and Moresby Range Drummondita Recovery Plan (Stack et al. 2004). This species is not listed as Threatened in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The seeds for this species have been collected as part of the Millennium Seed Bank project. Seeds are located at: Wakehurst Place, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK) and Kings Park & Botanic Garden, Perth (Australia). In Place Needed 1 Policy-based actions 1.1 Management plans 1.1.1 Development 1.1.2 Implementation 4 Habitat and site-based actions 4.4 Protected areas 5 Species-based actions 5.7 Ex situ conservation actions 5.7.2 Genome resource bank Countries of Occurrence PRESENCE ORIGIN Year Breeding Non- Passage Possibly ExtinctPresence Native Introduced Re- Vagrant Origin Round Season breeding migrant extinct uncertain Introduced uncertain only season only Australia Western Australia General Habitats Score Description Major Importance 1 Forest 1UnsetSuitable 1.4 Forest - Temperate1Unset Suitable 2 Savanna 1UnsetSuitable 2.1 Savanna - Dry1Unset Suitable 3 Shrubland 1UnsetSuitable 3.8 Shrubland - Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation1Unset Suitable Species Utilisation Species is not utilised at all Trend in the level of wild offtake/harvest in relation to total wild population numbers over the last five years: Trend in the amount of offtake/harvest produced through domestication/cultivation over the last five years: CITES status: Not listed IUCN Red Listing Red List Assessment:(using 2001 IUCN system) Least Concern (LC) Red List Criteria: Date Last Seen (only for EX, EW or Possibly EX species): Is the species Possibly Extinct? Possibly Extinct Candidate? Rationale for the Red List Assessment G. spinosum is listed as Least Concern in view its wide distribution in south-west Western Australia. Also for the fact that it is known to occur within protected areas and that its seeds have been banked as an ex situ conservatin measure. Furthermore, there are no major threats known to this species, however, this genus is highly toxic to stock and in the past it was targetted in an eradication plan. Reason(s) for Change in Red List Category from the Previous Assessment: Genuine Change Nongenuine Change No Change Genuine (recent) New information Taxonomy Same category Genuine (since first assessment) Knowledge of Criteria Criteria Revisio and criteria Incorrect data used Other Same category but previously change in criteria Current Population Trend: Stable Date of Assessment: 29/07/2010 Name(s) of the Assessor(s): Malcolm, P. Evaluator(s): Notes: % population decline in the past: Time period over which the past decline has been measured for applying Criterion A or C1 (in years or generations): % population decline in the future: Time period over which the future decline has been measured for applying Criterion A or C1 (in years or generations): Number of Locations: Severely Fragmented: Number of Mature Individuals: Bibliography Archer, W., 2009, Prickly poison - Gastrolobium spinosum, Esperance wildflowers29 July 2010, , , Chandler, G.R., Crisp, M.D., Cayzer, L.W. Bayer, R.J., 2002, Monograph of Gastrolobium (Fabaceae: Mirbelieae)., Australian Systematic Botany5, 619-739, , Commonwealth of Australia, 1999, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)10 June 2010, , , Corrick, G.C. and Fuhrer, B.A., 1996, Wildflowers of Southern Western Australia, A.S. George, , The Five Mile Press Pty Ltd, Victoria Grieve, B.J., 1998, How to know Western Australian Wildflowers, , University of Western Australian Press, Nedlands Jonson, J., 2009, Peniup Restoration Plan, Greening Australia, , , Nevill, S. and McQuoid, N., 2006, Guide to the wildflowers of Western Australia, , Simon Nevill Publications, Fremantle Stack, G., Chant, A., English, V., 2004, Moresby Range Drummondita (Drummondita ericoides). Interim Recovery Plan., , Department of Conservation and Land Management., Wanneroo Wheeler, J., Marchant, N. and Lewington, M., 2002, Flora of the south west: Bunbury - Augusta - Denmark., , ABRS and W.A. Herbarium in association with UWA Press, Canberra.