Species profile—Haloragis exalata subsp. velutina

Classification

Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Haloragaceae → Haloragis exalata subsp. velutina

Sighting data

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Species details

Kingdom

Plantae (plants)

Class

Equisetopsida (land plants)

Family

Haloragaceae

Scientific name

Haloragis exalata subsp. velutina Orchard

WildNet taxon ID

12163

Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status

Vulnerable

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) status

Vulnerable

Conservation significant

Yes

Confidential

No

Endemicity

Native

Pest status

Nil

Description

Haloragis exalata subsp. velutina, also known as tall velvet sea-berry, is a small, erect shrub growing to 1.5 m high. The stems are square-shaped, four-ribbed, finely and densely velvety with hairs less than 0.01 mm long and faintly sandpapery to the touch. The leaves are opposite up to the flowering part of the stem and then become alternate above this. They are 40 to 100 mm long by 5 to 25 mm wide, they are narrowly lanceolate to oblong and are finely toothed and red to yellowish green. They are usually stalkless but can have a stalk up to 10 m long. The flowers are small and are usually in clusters of three to seven towards the end of the branchlets. Individual flowers are stalked and have four sepals and four petals. The sepals are reddish about 0.6 mm long and are persistent on the fruit. The petals are also reddish, hooded and about 2.5 to 3.5 mm long. Each flower has eight stamens, with the anthers 1.5 to 2 mm long. The fruit are small and pear-shaped, they are slightly wrinkled. Each fruit is only about 2 mm long.
Haloragis exalata subsp. velutina differs from Haloragis exalata subsp. exalata by having a dense velvety indumentum and narrower petiolate leaves with a finely serrate or almost entire margin (Orchard, 1990).

Distribution

Haloragis exalata subsp. velutina occurs in south-east Queensland, from Brisbane west to the Bunya Mountains, with an isolated occurrence in Carnarvon National Park. This species is locally common in some areas such as Bunya Mountains NP, but is often recorded in low numbers (Queensland Herbarium, 2012). Haloragis exalata subsp. velutina occurs within the Bunya Mountains National park, Carnarvon National Park, Carnarvon Station Nature Refuge, D'Aguilar National Park, Deer Reserve National Park and Yarraman State Forest (Queensland Herbarium, 2012).

Distributional limits

-24.8003789, 147.8677924
-28.2940834, 153.0927277

Range derivation

Range derived from extent of the taxon's verified records

Habitat

Haloragis exalata subsp. velutina has been recorded from eucalypt forests, from rainforest margins and grasslands from near sea-level to 1000 m altitude . The species has been recorded growing on brown heavy clay (Carnarvon National Park), shallow rock loam (Bunya Mountains National Park), and basaltic soils. Associated species include Eucalyptus tereticornis, Angophora subvelutina, Acacia irrorata. The species occurs in the grassland balds (Poa and Themeda) of the Bunya Mountain National Park, and it was formerly known from swamp vegetation near Hamilton beside the Brisbane River at low elevation (Queensland Herbarium, 2012).

Reproduction

Flowering has been recorded in February and April. (Queensland Herbarium, 2012).

Threatening processes

The main identified threats to Haloragis exalata subsp. velutina are invasion by weeds, especially blackberry (Rubus spp.) in streamside areas; intensive grazing; and clearing for timber harvesting. The main potential threats to Haloragis exalata subsp. velutina include weed invasion (Lantana camara)), particularly populations occurring on rainforest margins (DSEWPC, 2012). The population recorded in the grassland community in the Bunya Mountains is also threatened by the invasion of exotic plant species. The introduced grasses kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) and African lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) are considered to have the potential to become major problems in maintaining the natural flora of the Bunya Mountain grasslands (Fensham and Fairfax 1996b). Kikuyu has already invaded two grassland patches displacing the native grasses and has been recorded in at least another two grassland patches (Fensham and Fairfax 1996b).

Status notes

Haloragis exalata subsp. velutina is listed as Vulnerable under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act, 1992.
Haloragis exalata subsp. velutina is listed as Vulnerable under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)

Management recommendations

Regional and local priority actions to support the recovery of Haloragis exalata subsp. velutina are outlined by DSEWPC (2012). A summary of these include: avoid habitat loss, disturbance and modification (e.g. control access routes to suitably constrain public access to known sites on public land; suitably control and manage access on private land); control invasive weeds (identify and remove weeds in the local area, which could become a threat to H. exalata subsp. velutina, using appropriate methods; manage sites to prevent introduction of invasive weeds, which could become a threat to the species); minimise trampling, browsing or grazing (e.g. manage known sites to ensure appropriate stock grazing regimes occur; prevent grazing pressure at known sites through exclusion fencing or other barriers); manage fire (e.g. investigate the need for ecological burning; develop and implement a suitable fire management strategy for H. exalata subsp. velutina).
Additional management for the protection of H. exalata subsp. velutina that includes: the establishment of a protective buffer (0.25 ha) that excludes clearing with all H. exalata subsp. velutina at least 25 m inside the buffer; and monitor the impact of grazing and adjust accordingly (Pollard, 1997).

Notes

Occurs in the following Queensland pastoral districts: Burnett, Darling Downs, Moreton.

References

Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPC) (2012). Haloragis exalata subsp. velutina in Species Profile and Threats Database, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Canberra. Accessed 8/05/2012. http://www.environment.gov.au/sprat.
Fensham, R.J. and Fairfax, R.J. (1996b). The grassy balds on the Bunya Mountains, south-eastern Queensland: floristics and conservation issues. Cunninghamii 4 (3): 511-530.
Halford, D. (1998). Survey of Threatened Plant Species in South East Queensland Biogeographical Region. Queensland CRA/RFA Steering Committee, Department of Environment, Brisbane.
Orchard, A.E. (1990). Haloragaceae. In George, A.S (ed.), Flora of Australia Volume 18, Podostemaceae to Combretaceae, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
Pollock, A.B. (1997). Haloragis exalata subsp. velutina Species Management Profile. Department of Natural Resources, Brisbane.
Queensland Herbarium (2012). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 19/01/2012.

Profile author

Ronald Booth (08/05/2012)

Other resources

• Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT)
• The Australasian Virtual Herbarium (AVH)
• Atlas of Living Australia

Data source

This profile data is sourced from the QLD Wildlife Data API using the Get species by ID function used under CC-By 4.0.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species/?op=getspeciesbyid&taxonid=12163.

This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.