Pultenaea villifera NT Taxonomic Authority: Sieber ex DC.  Global Assessment  Regional Assessment Region: Global  Endemic to region Synonyms Common Names YELLOW BUSH-PEA English (Primary)

Upper Level Kingdom: PLANTAE Phylum: TRACHEOPHYTA Class: MAGNOLIOPSIDA Order: Family: LEGUMINOSAE Lower Level Taxonomy Rank: Infra- rank name:  Hybrid Subpopulation: Authority:

Two known varieties P. villifera var. glabrescens J.M.Black and P. villifera var. villifera.

General Information Distribution Pultenaea villifera is endemic to Australia, distributed in the states of New South Wales and South Australia. This species has a disjunct distribution with two distinct varieties: P. villifera var. glabrescens is found only on Kangaroo Island in South Australia and P. villifera var. villifera is found in the South and Central Coasts and Southern Tablelands of New South Wales (de Kok and West, 2002).

Range Size Elevation Biogeographic Realm Area of Occupancy: Upper limit: 1000  Afrotropical Extent of Occurrence: Lower limit: 0  Antarctic Map Status: Depth  Australasian Upper limit:  Neotropical Lower limit:  Oceanian Depth Zones  Palearctic  Shallow photic  Bathyl  Hadal  Indomalayan  Photic  Abyssal  Nearctic Population P. villifera var. glabrescens is known to occur in 10 separate sub-populations scattered along the northern coast of Kangaroo Island. The extent of occurrence of this variety is 239 km2 and the total area of occupancy in the island is 19.6 km2. From the known population sizes there are in total 629 individuals in the Island, with the largest population at Harveys Return with 276 individuals (Taylor 2003). Total population size of P. villifera var. villifera is not known, but less than 300 are currently known from the Blue Mountains area (NSW Scientific Committee 2002). Latest collection in 2007.

Total Population Size Minimum Population Size: Maximum Population Size: Habitat and Ecology Both varieties are large shrubs which grow in dry sclerophyll forests to open (mallee) woodlands, heaths, grasslands and coastal cliffs in sandy to gravelly clay over sandstone, basalt, limestone or rhyolite base rock. P. villifera var. villifera woodland is sometimes dominated by Eucalyptus agglomerata and E. sieberi, while var. glabrescens occurs in woodlands often dominated by Allocasuarina verticillata or Eucalyptus baxteri, E. cladocalyx, E. leucoxylon (de Kok and West 2002). It is a fire sensitive species with recruitment occurring from a persistent soil stored seed bank following fire (NSW Scientific Committee 2002).

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 P. villifera habitat in New South Wales has been reduced by clearing mainly for urban development, with the remaining sites fragmented and subject to a range of disturbance related threats. Loss and degradation of habitat in the area is still occurring. The population of P. villifera in the Blue Mountains has been listed as Endangered, and threats to this population include: clearing, disturbance during trail and maintenance of power lines and their easements, dumping of rubbish, trampling, weed invasion, fragmentation of remaining habitat, and potentially inappropriate fire regimes (NSW Scientific Committee 2002). Entensive fires can result in localised extinctions, 2001-03 significantly intense wildfires affected large parts parts of Deua National Park, 52,176 hectares were burnt (NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service 2004). Phytophthora cinnamomi, root-rot disease, may prove to be a significant threat in New South Wales, but further research is required to asses the impact on the vegetation since it was only recently observed in these areas (Cahill et al. 2008). In Kangaroo Island the distribution of this species has declined due to factors such as vegetation clearing (14% of total population at threat), stock grazing (3% of total population at threat), erosion (33% of total population at threat) and trampling (32% of total population at threat). Recent declines in the distribution of this species have been noted on the Western River Rd and off the North Coast Rd. Furthermore, root-rot disease, is spread in central and western portions of the island and may pose a threat by degrading the habitat where this species occurs. Furthermore, due to the small size of the subpopulations and the fragmented nature of the landscape, this variety is also at risk from declining genetic viability (Taylor 2003).

Past Present Future 1 Habitat Loss/Degradation (human induced)  1.4 Infrastructure development  1.4.2 Human settlement  1.5 Invasive alien species (directly impacting habitat)  1.7 Fires  7 Natural disasters  7.4 Wildfire  8 Changes in native species dynamics  8.1 Competitors  8.5 Pathogens/parasites  10 Human disturbance  10.5 Fire  Conservation Measures Across its range, several populations of this species occur within protected areas. Most notably in New South Wales it is known to occur in Jervis Bay, Deua, Blue Mountains and Morton National Parks and in South Australia in Cape Torrens Conservation Park, Flinders Chase National Park, Lathami Conservation Park and Western River Conservation Park. P. villifera var. glabrescens is listed as Vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). It is also is listed as 2VCi (Briggs and Leigh 1996), a vulnerable variety with a geographic range less than 100 km2 with less than 1,000 plants known to occur within a protected area; while P. villifera var. villifera is listed as 3RC-, a rare variety with a geographic range greater than 100 km2 with reserved population size not accurately known. Six recovery strategies have been identified to the Blue Mountains population, including ensuring appropriate fire regimes, introducing measures to prevent habitat degradation and protecting areas of known and potential habitat from clearing (Department of Environment and Conservation 2005). In Kangaroo Island recovery actions for the variety are also in place. It is recommended that further research is carried out to monitor the habitat status, level of threats and update total population size for both varieties (Taylor 2003). 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 Seed Conservation Centre, Adelaide Botanic Garden, South Australia (Australia). However, since these seeds were collected from var. glabrescens only, it is recommended that seeds from var. villifera are also banked.

In Place Needed 1 Policy-based actions  1.1 Management plans  1.1.1 Development  1.1.2 Implementation  3 Research actions  3.2 Population numbers and range  3.4 Habitat status  3.5 Threats  4 Habitat and site-based actions  4.4 Protected areas  5 Species-based actions  5.4 Recovery management  5.5 Disease, pathogen, parasite management  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    New South Wales    South 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 4 Grassland 1UnsetSuitable 4.5 Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical Dry1Unset 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) Near Threatened (NT)

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 Pultenaea villifera is endemic to Australia. This species has a disjunct distribution with two distinct varieties; var. glabrescens in Kangaroo Island and var. villifera in New South Wales. Both varieties occur in similar habitats from dry sclerophyll forest to heathlands and grasslands, but are threatened by different factors. In the Kangaroo Island the species is known only from 10 locations, a total population of 630 individuals and an area of occupancy of ~20 km2. This variety is listed as Endangered in the EPBC Act. In New South Wales the species has a patchy distribution with a total extent of occurrence of ~17,200 km2 with more than 10 locations. Some of these populations have been listed as Endangered and threats to the area include habitat loss and fragmentation due to clearing for urban development and inappropriate fire regimes. Given the small population size in Kangaroo Island and the overall decline in habitat quality and levels of threats, this species is listed as Near Threatened. It is recommended that the seeds of var. villifera are banked as an ex situ conservation measure, that further monitoring is carried out on habitat status and levels of threat, and that the appropriate fire regimes and management plans to reduce the impact of root-rot disease are implemented. 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: Decreasing Date of Assessment: 02/09/2010 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 Briggs, J.D. and Leigh, J.H., 1995, Rare or threatened Australian plants, M. Veroni, , Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Canberra Cahill, D., Rookes, J.E., Wilson, B.A., Gibson, L., McDougall, K.L., 2008, Phytophthora cinnamomi and Australia’s biodiversity: impacts, predictions and progress towards control, Australian Journal of Botany, 279–310, , Commonwealth of Australia, 1999, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)10 June 2010, , , de Kok, R.P.J. and West, J.G., 2002, A revision of Pultenaea () 1. Species with ovaries glabrous and/or with tufted hairs, Australian Systematic Botany, 81–113, , Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW), 2005, Pultenaea villifera population in the Blue Mountains LGA - profile, Threatened Species website25/08/2010, , , MSBP, 2010, Millennium Seed Bank Project. Seed Bank Database, , Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, 2004, Deua National Park Fire Management Strategy 2003-2006, , , Narooma NSW Scientific Committee, 2002, Pultenaea villifera population in the Blue Mountains Local Government Area - Endangered population determination - final, DEC (NSW), , , Sydney Taylor, D.A., 2003, Recovery Plan for 15 Nationally Threatened Plant Species on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Report to the Threatened Species and Communities Section, Department for the Environment and Heritage, , , Weber, J.Z., 1986, Subfamily 3.- Papilionoideae, Flora of South Australia, J.P. Jessop and H.R. Toelken, , South Australian Government Printing Division, Adelaide Weston, P.H. and de Kok, R.P.J., 2002, Pultenaea, Flora of New South Wales. Revised Edition., G.J. Harden, , University of New South Wales Press Ltd., Sydney