National Recovery Plan for the Maroon Leek-Orchid (Prasophyllum
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National Recovery Plan for the Maroon Leek-orchid Prasophyllum frenchii Mike Duncan Prepared by Michael Duncan, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Heidelberg, Victoria Published by the Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) Melbourne, July 2010. © State of Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment 2010 This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Authorised by the Victorian Government, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne. ISBN 978-1-74208-966-9 This is a Recovery Plan prepared under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, with the assistance of funding provided by the Australian Government. This Recovery Plan has been developed with the involvement and cooperation of a range of stakeholders, but individual stakeholders have not necessarily committed to undertaking specific actions. The attainment of objectives and the provision of funds may be subject to budgetary and other constraints affecting the parties involved. Proposed actions may be subject to modification over the life of the plan due to changes in knowledge. Disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence that may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. An electronic version of this document is available on the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts website www.environment.gov.au For more information contact the DSE Customer Service Centre telephone 136 186 Citation: Duncan, M. 2010. National Recovery Plan for the Maroon Leek Orchid Prasophyllum frenchii. Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne. Cover photographs: Maroon Leek-orchid Prasophyllum frenchii, Piccaninnie Ponds, South Australia © Gary Backhouse 1 Table of Contents SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................. 3 SPECIES INFORMATION....................................................................................................... 3 DESCRIPTION......................................................................................................................... 3 DISTRIBUTION ........................................................................................................................ 3 POPULATION INFORMATION .................................................................................................... 4 HABITAT................................................................................................................................. 4 DECLINE AND THREATS ...................................................................................................... 5 RECOVERY INFORMATION .................................................................................................. 6 EXISTING CONSERVATION MEASURES..................................................................................... 6 RECOVERY OBJECTIVES......................................................................................................... 6 IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION ........................................................................................ 6 RECOVERY ACTIONS AND PERFORMANCE CRITERIA ................................................................ 7 MANAGEMENT PRACTICES...................................................................................................... 8 AFFECTED INTERESTS ............................................................................................................ 9 ROLE AND INTERESTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE....................................................................... 9 BIODIVERSITY BENEFITS......................................................................................................... 9 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS............................................................................................ 9 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. 9 REFERENCES......................................................................................................................... 9 PRIORITY, FEASIBILITY AND ESTIMATED COSTS OF RECOVERY ACTIONS ............. 11 FIGURE 1. CURRENT AND FORMER DISTRIBUTION OF PRASOPHYLLUM FRENCHII.......................... 4 TABLE 1. POPULATION INFORMATION FOR PRASOPHYLLUM FRENCHII ......................................... 4 2 Summary The Maroon Leek-orchid is a tall, slender, deciduous terrestrial orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia, where it occurs across southern Victoria and in south-eastern South Australia. Formerly more widely distributed in south-eastern Australia, the species has suffered a major decline in both range and abundance. Only about seven populations containing about 1,000 plants remain, and these are under threat from disturbance to and destruction of habitat, weed invasion and predation. The Maroon Leek-orchid is listed as Endangered under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, as Threatened under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, and Endangered under the South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. This national Recovery Plan for the Maroon Leek-orchid details its distribution, habitat, threats and recovery objectives and actions necessary to ensure its long-term survival. Species Information Description The Maroon Leek-orchid is a tall, slender, deciduous, terrestrial orchid emerging annually from an underground tuber. It has a single, terete, erect, slender leaf to 60 cm long that is green with a purplish base. A slender to stout greenish stem to 70 cm tall bears 20–60 small (to 8 mm across), fragrant, greenish and reddish flowers. The dorsal sepal is ovate with a pointed apex, and incurved to obliquely deflexed, while the lateral sepals are broadly lanceolate, erect, free, parallel and the tips are divergent and the margins in-rolled. The labellum is broadly ovate with undulate margins, the base is pouched, and it is sharply recurved at right angles just beyond the middle. The callus is short, horse- shoe shaped, raised, fleshy, warty, somewhat irregular, and extends just beyond the bend in the labellum (description from Bates 1994; Backhouse & Jeanes 1995; Bishop 1996; Jones 2006). The Maroon Leek-orchid is illustrated in Backhouse and Jeanes (1995, p. 240), Bishop (1996, plate 95) and Jeanes and Backhouse (2006, p. 260). Prasophyllum frenchii was described by von Mueller in 1889, based on plants collected east of Melbourne (between the Yarra River and the Dandenong Ranges). However, the identity of P. frenchii was only relatively recently determined in relation to the closely related P. hartii, under which name many Victorian P. frenchii populations were commonly referred to for many years (Backhouse & Jeanes 1995). Very little is known of the biology and ecology of the Maroon Leek-orchid. The single leaf emerges in late autumn, following the onset of seasonal rains. Flowering commences in late October and is usually completed by late November in populations around Melbourne and Gippsland. In populations in southwest Victoria and South Australia, flowering commences in late November and is completed by late December. About four weeks after flowering finishes, the leaf has shrivelled, and if pollination has occurred, the seed capsule is ripening. The species survives the dry summer and early autumn as a dormant tuber that is replaced annually. The pollinator of P. frenchii flowers is unknown, but many Prasophyllum species are visited by a range of insects such as bees, wasps, beetles and ants, attracted to the flowers by strong perfumes and/or rewards of nectar (Backhouse & Jeanes 1995), so the species may not have a specific insect pollinator. A few Prasophyllum species appear to be primarily self-pollinating (Backhouse & Jeanes 1995). The Maroon Leek-orchid usually flowers well in the absence of fire, but at some grassland sites, occasional hot summer fires promote flowering of dormant plants. These fires are probably necessary to prevent thick swards of grass (e.g. Kangaroo Grass) from developing, which can inhibit orchid flowering. Distribution The Maroon Leek-orchid is endemic to south-eastern Australia, where it occurs from south-eastern South Australia to eastern Victoria, in the Naracoorte Coastal Plain, South East Coastal Plain, and South East Corner bioregions (sensu DEH 2000) (Figure 1). Maps showing the distribution of P. frenchii are available from the Department of Sustainability and Environment (for Victoria), and the Department for Environment and Heritage (for South Australia). 3 = present occurrence = former occurrence Figure 1. Current and former distribution of Prasophyllum frenchii Population Information The Maroon Leek-orchid is currently known only from seven populations containing about 1,000 plants (Table 1), with one population occurring in South Australia and the remainder in Victoria. The largest population, containing about 420 plants, occurs in South Australia, in the Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park (managed by the Department for Environment and Heritage) and