This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 3/7/2008 Approved Conservation Advice (s266B of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) Approved Conservation Advice for Calectasia cyanea (Blue Tinsel Lily)
This Conservation Advice has been developed based on the best available information at the time this conservation advice was approved.
Description Calectasia cyanea, Family Xanthorroeaceae, also known as the Blue Tinsel Lily, is a rhizomatous, clump forming, woody perennial herb growing 0.1–0.6 m high and to 0.3 m wide. Blue Tinsel Lily flowers are vivid blue-purple and its anthers are red and yellow (WA Herbarium, 2005). This species has been previously misidentified as the widespread C. narragara and C. grandiflora.
Conservation Status The Blue Tinsel Lily is listed as critically endangered. This species is eligible for listing as critically endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) (EPBC Act) as, in 2006, the Minister considered the Threatened Species Scientific Committee's (TSSC) advice under section 189 of the Act and amended the list under section 184 to include the Blue Tinsel Lily. The TSSC determined that this species met Criteria 2 and 4 of their eligibility criteria (TSSC, 2006). The species is also listed as rare under the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 (Western Australia).
Distribution and Habitat The Blue Tinsel Lily is endemic to Western Australia and known from a single population in Torndirrup National Park, approximately 10 km south of Albany. Its extent of occurrence and area of occupancy are 0.02 km², and its population is estimated at 70 individuals. The species occurs in flat to gently sloping heathland growing in white sand or laterite gravel (CALM, 2005). It grows in association with Allocasuarina humilis, Banksia grandis, Adenanthos cuneatus, Hakea ruscifolia and Melaleuca thymoides (Barrett, 2005, pers. comm.). This species occurs within the South Coast (Western Australia) Natural Resource Management Region. The distribution of this species is not known to overlap with any EPBC Act-listed threatened ecological communities.
Threats The main identified threat to Blue Tinsel Lily is fire. Blue Tinsel Lily is a fire sensitive obligate seeder and too-frequent fires could potentially eliminate the species within two years. Past burning history indicates that at least a 14-year fire interval would be required for this species develop an adequate seed bank (CALM, 2005). The main potential threat to Blue Tinsel Lily is roadwork activities at sites where mature plants are close to roads (CALM, 2005). Phytophthora cinnamomi may potentially threaten Blue Tinsel Lily as other Calectasia and Xanthorroeaceae are affected (Durrell & Buehrig, 2001; EA, 2001).
Research Priorities Research priorities that would inform future regional and local priority actions include: • Design and implement a monitoring program.
Calectasia cyanea Conservation Advice - Page 1 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 3/7/2008 • More precisely assess population size, distribution, fire ecology, ecological requirements and the relative impacts of threatening processes. • Assess the impact of Phytophthora cinnamomi. • Undertake survey work in suitable habitat and potential habitat to locate any additional populations. • Undertake seed germination and/or vegetative propagation trials to determine the requirements for successful establishment.
Regional and Local Priority Actions The following priority recovery and threat abatement actions can be done to support the recovery of Blue Tinsel Lily. Habitat Loss, Disturbance and Modification • Monitor the known population to identify key threats. • Monitor the progress of recovery, including the effectiveness of management actions and the need to adapt them if necessary. • Ensure road widening and maintenance activities involving substrate or vegetation disturbance in areas where Blue Tinsel Lily occurs do not adversely impact on known population. • Control access routes to suitably constrain public access to known sites on public land. • Minimise adverse impacts from land use at known sites. Fire • Develop and implement a suitable fire management strategy for Blue Tinsel Lily. • 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 • Raise awareness of Blue Tinsel Lily within the local community. Diseases, Fungi and Parasites • If appropriate, implement suitable hygiene protocols to protect known sites from outbreaks of Phytophthora cinnamomi (EA, 2001). Enable Recovery of Additional Sites and/or Populations • Undertake appropriate seed collection and storage. A limited amount of seed material has been collected and is currently stored at the West Australian Threatened Flora Seed Centre (WATFSC, 2005). • Investigate options for linking, enhancing or establishing additional populations. • Implement national translocation protocols (Vallee et al., 2004) if establishing additional populations is considered necessary and feasible. This list does not necessarily encompass all actions that may be of benefit to Blue Tinsel Lily, 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 • Threat Abatement Plan for Dieback Caused by the Root-Rot Fungus Phytophthora cinnamonii (EA, 2001) as this species may be susceptible to this fungus, • An Interim Recovery Plan for Calectasia cyanea is currently being prepared, and • Declared Rare and Poorly Known Flora in the Albany District (Robinson & Coates, n.d.).
Calectasia cyanea Conservation Advice - Page 2 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 3/7/2008 These prescriptions were current at the time of publishing; please refer to the relevant agency’s website for any updated versions.
Information Sources: Barrett, S (Threatened Species and Communities Unit, Department of Conservation and Land Management, Western Australia). Personal communication. 2005. Durell, G & Buehrig, R 2001, Declared Rare and Poorly Known Flora in the Narrogin District, Wildlife Management Program No. 30, Department of Conservation and Land Management. Environment Australia (EA) 2001, Threat Abatement Plan For Dieback caused by the root-rot fungus Phytophthora cinnamoni, Environment Australia, viewed 30 March 2008,
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