Persoonia hirsuta

Family: Proteaceae

Conservation Status

Endangered species in NSW (TSC Act). Also listed as an endangered species at national level in the Endangered Species Protection Act.

Distribution

Persoonia hirsuta comprises two subspecies: hirsuta (narrower leaves with revolute margins) and evoluta (wider leaves with recurved margins). Both are considered to be endangered.

Subspecies hirsuta grows along the coast from Gosford to Royal National Park, while subspecies evoluta extends from the Putty district west to Glen Davis and south to Hilltop. The subspecies intergrade extensively from the lower Blue Mountains to within 15 km of the coast (Harden 1991).

The species has a very patchy distribution within its overall range, occurring as tiny populations in widely scattered locations.

Pittwater Population

The only record for the Pittwater Council area is from the vicinity of the Baha’i Temple at Ingleside (Scott 1995). A single plant was found here during a survey for Grevillea caleyi in 1994 (T. Auld pers. comm.). Another single plant was found during the 1994 Grevillea caleyi surveys about 2.5 km west of the Baha'i Temple at Tumbledown Dick Hill in Warringah. The latter plant has since been destroyed by human disturbance.

The species has also been recorded in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, but not in Garigal National Park (NSW Scientific Committee 1998d). Habitat: Typically grows in woodland or scrub/heath on sandstone, often where there is a clay influence at a shale/sandstone ecotone (James 1997). At both the Baha'i Temple and Tumbledown Dick Hill, the species was growing in the Duffys Forest Vegetation Community on lateritic soils associated with shale lenses within Hawkesbury Sandstone. This community has been listed as an endangered ecological community and is discussed below in section 2.6.1.

Ecology

Persoonia hirsuta is a spreading shrub that grows to about 1 m high, but may spread out over 2-3 m. At most of its known locations the population consists of only one to three plants (plus seeds in the soil seedbank), with the exception of two locations in the Baulkham Hills Local Government Area, where there are 10-20 plants (NSW Scientific Committee 1998d).

There is evidence of a continued decline in the number of locations and the number of individuals, and the species is particularly prone to local population extinctions because of the small number of plants found at all locations. The general ecology of the species and the requirements for successful reproduction are poorly known.

Flowers are produced in November-January (Robinson 1994). The small population sizes suggest that the seeds germinate and successfully grow to maturity only under certain conditions, such as after a fire or other disturbance.

Management Issues

• Conservation of remnant bushland
• Habitat degradation in remnant bushland
• Lack of knowledge of the biology and ecology of the species
• Fire management (fire is likely to be an important factor in the life cycle, but the most appropriate fire regime for the species is unknown)
• Bushrock removal - identified as adversely affecting this species by NSW Scientific Committee (1999a)
• Preservation of remnant individuals in urban areasTranslocation (as an alternative to conservation in situ)
• Unauthorised collection of plant material
• Community education
• Recovery plan (no plan has yet been prepared for this species).

Updated: 06 Dec 2011