This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 1/10/2008 Approved Conservation Advice (s266B of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) Approved Conservation Advice for foetida (Stinking Cryptocarya)

This Conservation Advice has been developed based on the best available information at the time this Conservation Advice was approved; this includes existing plans, records or management prescriptions for this species.

Description Cryptocarya foetida, Family , also known as Stinking Cryptocarya and Stinking Laurel, is a tree growing to 25 m tall. Leaves are oval shaped with a bluntly pointed tip, 5–12 cm long, 2–6 cm wide, with a dark green upper surface and pale green lower surface. The main leaf vein is prominent and characteristically crooked. Flowers are arranged in small clusters, are cream coloured and emit an offensive odour. Fruits are 1 cm in diameter, fleshy, globular and purple to black coloured. The fruit enclose a single seed that is readily dispersed by fruit-eating birds (Hyland, 1989; Harden, 1990; DECC, 2005a; Harden et al., 2006; Le Cussan & Hyland, 2007).

Conservation Status Stinking Cryptocarya is listed as vulnerable. This species is eligible for listing as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) (EPBC Act) as, prior to the commencement of the EPBC Act, it was listed as vulnerable under Schedule 1 of the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 (Cwlth). Stinking Cryptocarya is also listed as vulnerable under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW) and vulnerable under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Queensland).

Distribution and Habitat Stinking Cryptocarya is known from Iluka, NSW, to Fraser Island and east of Gympie, southern Queensland. This species is conserved within the Cooloola National Park (NP), Noosa NP, Burleigh Heads NP, Lamington NP, Broken Head Nature Reserve (NR), Brunswick Heads NR, Ukerebagh NR and Tyagarah NR (Briggs & Leigh, 1996). Stinking Cryptocarya grows in littoral rainforest, usually on sandy soils, with mature trees also growing on basalt soils. This species occurs within the Northern Rivers (NSW), Burnett Mary and South East Queensland Natural Resource Management Regions. The distribution of this species is not known to overlap with any EPBC Act-listed threatened ecological communities.

Threats The main identified threats to Stinking Cryptocarya are localised extinction due to small populations; clearing and fragmentation of habitat for coastal development, agriculture and roadwork; invasion of habitat by weeds, such as Bitou Bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata); trampling by visitors when accessing beach areas through littoral rainforest; and fire (DECC, 2005a).

Research Priorities Research priorities that would inform future regional and local priority actions include: • Design and implement a monitoring program or, if appropriate, support and enhance existing programs.

Cryptocarya foetida Conservation Advice - Page 1 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 1/10/2008 • More precisely assess population size, distribution, ecological requirements and the relative impacts of threatening processes. • Undertake survey work in suitable habitat and potential habitat to locate any additional populations/occurrences/remnants.

Regional and Local Priority Actions The following priority recovery and threat abatement actions can be done to support the recovery of Stinking Cryptocarya. Habitat Loss, Disturbance and Modification • Monitor known populations to identify key threats. • Monitor the progress of recovery, including the effectiveness of management actions and the need to adapt them if necessary. • Identify populations of high conservation priority. • Ensure road widening and maintenance activities and other infrastructure or development activities involving substrate or vegetation disturbance in areas where Stinking Cryptocarya occurs do not adversely impact on known populations. • Control access routes to suitably constrain public access to known sites on public land. • Minimise adverse impacts from land use at known sites. • Investigate formal conservation arrangements, management agreements and covenants on private land, and for crown and private land investigate inclusion in reserve tenure if possible. Invasive Weeds • Develop and implement a management plan for the control of Bitou Bush in the region (DECC, 2005c). • Identify and remove weeds in the local area, which could become a threat to Stinking Cryptocarya, using appropriate methods. • Ensure chemicals or other mechanisms used to eradicate weeds do not have a significant adverse impact on Stinking Cryptocarya. Fire • Develop and implement a suitable fire management strategy for Stinking Cryptocarya, by protecting rainforest habitats from fire (DECC, 2005b). • Provide maps of known occurrences to local and state Rural Fire Services and seek inclusion of mitigative measures in bush fire risk management plans, risk register and/or operation maps. Conservation Information • Ensure land managers and other stakeholders are aware of populations and habitat, identify information and resource needs, and ensure that plans of management, fire plans and pest management plans consider the requirements for the recovery of Stinking Cryptocarya (DECC, 2005a, b). • Raise awareness of Stinking Cryptocarya within the local community by encouraging local Landcare groups in the detection of new locations and with habitat rehabilitation projects (DECC, 2005a, b). This list does not necessarily encompass all actions that may be of benefit to Stinking Cryptocarya, but highlights those that are considered to be of highest priority at the time of preparing the conservation advice.

Existing Plans/Management Prescriptions that are Relevant to the Species • NSW Priority Action Statement for Stinking Cryptocarya (DECC, 2005b),

Cryptocarya foetida Conservation Advice - Page 2 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 1/10/2008 • Invasion of native communities by bitou bush & boneseed – key threatening processes (DECC, 2005c), • Burleigh Head National Park Management Plan (QPWS, 1999a), • Great Sandy Region Management Plan 1994–2010 (EPA, 2005), • Noosa National Park Management plan (QPWS, 1999b), • The Bryon Coast Group of Nature Reserves (incorporating Brunswick Heads, Tyagarah and Broken Heads Nature Reserves) Plan of Management (NSW NPWS, 1998), and • Tweed Heads Historic site and Ukerebagh Nature Reserve Plan of Management (NSW NPWS, 1999). These prescriptions were current at the time of publishing; please refer to the relevant agency’s website for any updated versions.

Information Sources: Briggs, JD & Leigh JH 1996, Rare or Threatened Australian , Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, CSIRO Division of Plant Industry, Canberra, ACT. Department of Environment & Climate Change (DECC) New South Wales 2005a, Stinking Cryptocarya – Profile, viewed 28 May 2008, . Department of Environment & Climate Change (DECC) New South Wales 2005b, Stinking Cryptocarya – Priority actions (New South Wales Threatened Species Priority Action Statement), viewed 28 May 2008, . Department of Environment & Climate Change (DECC) New South Wales 2005c, Invasion of native plant communities by bitou bush & boneseed – key threatening processes, viewed 3 June 2008, . Environment Protection Agency (EPA) 2005, Great Sandy Region – Management Plan 1994–2010, Queensland Government, viewed 23 June 2008, . Harden, GJ 1990, ‘Lauraceae’ in Flora of New South Wales, vol. 1 (ed.) GJ Harden, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney. Harden, GJ, McDonald, WJF & Williams, JB 2006, Rainforest trees and shrubs: a field guide to their identification in Victoria, New South Wales and subtropical Queensland using vegetative features, Gwen Harden Publishing, Nambucca Heads, NSW. Hyland, BPM 1989, ‘A revision of Lauraceae in (excluding Cassytha)’, Australian Systematic Botany, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 135–367. Le Cussan, J & Hyland, BPM 2007, ‘Lauraceae’ in Flora of Australia, vol. 2, (ed.) AJG Wilson, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service (NSW NPWS) 1998, The Byron Coast group of Nature Reserves (incorporating Brunswick Heads, Tyagarah and Broken Heads Nature Reserves) – Plan of Management, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, viewed 23 June 2008, . NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service (NSW NPWS) 1999, Tweed Heads Historic site and Ukerebagh Nature Reserve – Plan of Management, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, viewed 23 June 2008, . Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service (QPWS) 1999a, Burleigh Head National Park – Management plan, Queensland Government, viewed 23 June 2008, . Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service (QPWS) 1999b, Noosa National Park – Management plan, Queensland Government, viewed 23 June 2008, .

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