Spare a thought for the males of the small rainforest tree that can no longer spread their seed.
Create a free account to read this article
or signup to continue reading
Without help, the hairy quandong faces a barren future.
"The hairy quandong is rare because all remaining populations are represented by genetically identical clones," says Maurizio Rossetto, a principal research scientist with the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust.
The plight of the hairy quandong is not unique. In the small remaining pockets of rainforests in NSW, including the World Heritage listed Nightcap National Park in northern NSW, several native trees face extinction because they can no longer propagate their goods.
But research by scientists at the Gardens has found many of these rainforest plants are resilient to change, and they could prosper if introduced into other habitats.
"A tree requires a means of dispersal as seedlings need to grow far enough away from their parent to take hold and prosper, let alone start a new population," Dr Rossetto said.
After years without access to unrelated mates, the hairy quandong in the Nightcap National Park no longer produces viable seeds, he said.
Some trees have up to 300 sprouting trunks but they are all part of the same genetic individual.
"It's pretty much the living dead. It's the zombie equivalent of plants," Dr Rossetto said.
To revive the reproductively challenged species, scientists from the Botanic Gardens and National Parks have stepped in to play matchmaker.
They have sourced several unrelated varieties to introduce to the original populations, which they hope will engage in a bit of floral fornication in the future.
"When they are old enough and reach their reproductive age, hopefully they'll be fertilised and bring it back from the dead," Dr Rossetto said.
The stationary lifestyle of most plant species means they rely on animals such as birds, insects or small mammals and rodents to transport their seeds and propagate.
Dr Rossetto's research found that the problem for some species, such as the Minyon quandong, is that the animals that disperse its seeds have gone extinct. Now only 100 individuals of the Minyon quandong remain in northern NSW because native birds are not interested in eating their large fruit.
He said while parks staff could manually assist trees to reproduce, longer-term solutions, such as a introducing a bird capable of dispersing the plant's seeds, would need to be considered.
