The Mongarlowe mallee – which had its heyday in the last ice age – now has just six known survivors, but ecologists say it could be rescued in a plan reminiscent of the Wollemi pine.
abc.net.au/news/act-conservation-on-the-brink-of-extinction-mongarlowe-mallee/102914872An Australian tree that had its heyday in the last ice age is now teetering on the brink of extinction – but ecologists say it could still have a future in Australian gardens, thanks to a rescue plan reminiscent of the hugely popular Wollemi pine.
And to make matters worse, the six trees are spread over a 30-kilometre range — just far enough apart to never naturally reproduce. It owes its tenuous survival to the fact that it grows on what farmers might've once called 'rubbish country', shallow rocky soil that sheep and cattle avoid. "One plant we feel we can age is at least we think 3,000 years old. So it might live another 3,000 years," Mr Briggs said.But as ecologists explain, this mallee species resprouts from an underground 'lignotuber' after fire or die-back, so never reaches towering heights."I suspect they could well have been isolated [from each other] for thousands of years," Mr Briggs said.
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