Extinction no death sentence for long-lost species

08/10/2009

For many years the first Tasmanian collection of Hibbertia rufa seemed destined to be the last.

In October 1892, the forester and botanical explorer, William Fitzgerald, collected a small wiry shrub at Georges Bay, in north-eastern Tasmania.

For over a century his collection remained the sole Tasmanian record of Hibbertia rufa - a fact that eventually led to the species being listed as Extinct in Tasmania.

But extinction, it seems, is no death sentence.

In December 2008, the amateur botanist and sometime resident of Binalong Bay, Roy Skabo, went for a walk in wet heathland not far from St Helens.

'The area is one I have visited several times a year since I first saw it about ten years ago,' Roy said. 'As I wandered around, a small Hibbertia plant caught my eye. It was new to me, so I took a sample.'

Roy sent his collection to the Tasmanian Herbarium where, to the surprise of all concerned, it was formally identified as the long-lost species.

As Roy later put it, 'Hibbertia rufa was very much alive after hiding for nearly 120 years!'

It is a good story, and one that sheds light on the role of the Tasmanian Herbarium, a division of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and the home of botany in the state.

The Herbarium is responsible for preserving and studying specimens like those collected by Fitzgerald and Skabo. Its collection of about 250,000 specimens is the world's most comprehensive record of the Tasmanian flora, past and present.

The first director of the Herbarium was Leonard Rodway, an early authority on Tasmania's plants. Without him, Fitzgerald's collection - and an important chapter in the history of the species - might have been lost to the state.

As it turns out, Hibbertia rufa is doing surprisingly well for an extinct species.

This is the unexpected finding of a survey recently conducted by Mark Wapstra, a botanical consultant and an associate of the Tasmanian Herbarium.

'Hibbertia rufa is one of fourteen species of Hibbertia present in Tasmania,' Mark said. 'It also occurs in Victoria, New South Wales and apparently Queensland.'

'We found it to be relatively widespread between Priory and Thomas Creeks [near St Helens], often occurring in massive numbers over tens to hundreds of square metres.'

So how did Hibbertia rufa go undetected for so long? In his report, Mark tries to answer this obvious question. He begins by ruling out two simple explanations: that the species is uncommon or hard to access.

'Hibbertia rufa occurs at several sites and is often locally abundant and widespread,' he observed. 'What's more, virtually all sites supporting this species are readily accessed from public roads and occur on public land.'

Mark concludes that luck had a lot to do with it.

'It seems that we missed Hibbertia rufa simply by a combination of "near misses", and that its serendipitous rediscovery was waiting for the right person at the right time at the right place.'

As a result of this lucky break, botanists are planning to change the status of Hibbertia rufa from Extinct to Rare in Tasmania.

This steadfast species has come a long way in 116 years.

It is now set to feature in 'Recent Acquisitions', a display opening this month at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.