October 6, 2010 09:46 by
AndrewOur Round-leaf Pomaderris are flowering, Hoorah! Over twelve months ago we received 10 plants of the extremely rare Pomaderris vaccinifolia, or Round-leaf Pomaderris from Healesville Plants Indigenous Nursery. They have settled in, kicked on and begun to bloom.
The Round-leaf Pomaderris is endemic to Victoria and was recently added to Victoria's rare and threatened species list. The only significant wild population known to remain is now in Toolangi, 70km north east of Melbourne. Round-leaf Pomaderris plants are declining because of browsing by feral deer and land clearing. The Black Saturday bush fires may also have knocked them back and they are naturally slow to regenerate. This all amounts to a mere 100 (approx) mature naturally growing plants remaining in existence.
They are a little hard to find in the Forest Gallery as they are still waiting for a label, but if you ask one of the Live Exhibits staff they will be happy to show you where they are.
The Rare Round-leaf Pomaderris flowers for the first time in the Forest Gallery Photo: Andrew Kuhlmann. Source: Museum Victoria.
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