Advice to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage from the Threatened Species Scientific Committee (the Committee) on Amendments to the list of Threatened Species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)

1. Scientific name (common name) bennettiae (Bennett’s Mallee) A genetic analysis of Eucalyptus bennettiae confirmed that it is a hybrid between Eucalyptus sporadica and Eucalyptus lehmannii (Walker 2002).

2. Description Bennett’s Mallee is a small mallee up to 2.5 metres in height with smooth bark (WA Herbarium 2005). It has a morphology similar to its two parents, Eucalyptus lehmanii and Eucalyptus sporadica (Brown et al. 1998). It grows on red quartizite rocky slopes and in red loam gullies (Brown et al. 1998; WA Herbarium 2005). It flowers between June and September, and also in December (Kelly et al. 1995).

3. National Context Bennett’s Mallee is endemic to Western , and is known from a small area on the south coast between Albany and Esperance. It occurs near Ravensthorpe and the Fitzgerald River National Park and co-occurs with its parent species, Eucalyptus sporadica and Eucalyptus lehmannii (CALM 2005; Walker 2002). One parent species, Eucalyptus lehmannii, is widely distributed in the south coast region, from west of Albany to east of Esperance. Similarly, the other parent species, Eucalyptus sporadica, is widely distributed in the south coast region from Albany to east of Esperance, and also occurs in parts of the central and eastern wheatbelt. Bennett’s Mallee is not listed under the Western Australian Wildlife Conservation Act 1950. The parent species, Eucalyptus lehmanii and Eucalyptus sporadica, are not listed under the Western Australian Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 or the EPBC Act.

4. How judged by the Committeein relation to the EPBC Act criteria. The Committee judges that Eucalyptus x bennettiae is not eligible for listing under the EPBC Act for the following reasons: Eucalyptus bennettiae was conventionally accepted to be a species until 2003. In 2003, a genetic analysis of Eucalyptus bennettiae confirmed that it is a hybrid between Eucalyptus lehmannii and Eucalyptus sporadica and does not have any unique genetic identification to differentiate it as a separate species (Walker 2002). As Eucalyptus x bennettiae is a hybrid between Eucalyptus lehmannii and Eucalyptus sporadica, it does not meet the definition of a species under section 528 of the EPBC Act. Therefore, the taxon is not eligible for listing under the EPBC Act.

Eucalyptus bennettiae (Bennett’s Mallee) Advice - Page 1 of 3

5. Recommendation The Committee recommends that the list referred to in section 178 of the EPBC Act be amended by deleting from the list in the endangered category: Eucalyptus bennettiae (Bennett’s Mallee)

Eucalyptus bennettiae (Bennett’s Mallee) Advice - Page 2 of 3

References cited in the nomination Brown, A., C. Thomson-Dans and N. Marchant (eds) (1998). ’s Threatened Flora, Department of Conservation and Land Management, Western Australia. CALM (2005) Records held in CALM’s Declared Flora Database and rare flora files. WA Department of Conservation and Land Management. Kelly, A.E., A.C. Napier and S.D. Hopper (1995). Survey of rare and poorly known eucalypts of Western Australia in CALM Science Suppl. 2. Walker, E. (2002) Determining the hybrid status of Eucalyptus bennettiae and Adenanthos cunninghamii, Honours Thesis, Murdoch University. Western Australian Herbarium (2005). Florabase – The Western Australian Flora. Deparment of Conservation and Land Management. http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au

Eucalyptus bennettiae (Bennett’s Mallee) Advice - Page 3 of 3