New Rare Plant find at Wedderburn

Intrepid bush-ranger Jeroon van Veen has made an exciting discovery recently on a new Greenhouse Balanced property. He has found a native plant called waterbush (Myoporum montanum). It is the first official record of the plant in the Wedderburn area.
The Waterbush is a long-lived shrub to about 4m tall living up to 50 years. Most records in Victoria are from further north either the Shepparton-Rutherglen area or Mildura area. Myoporum montanum is listed by DSE as rare or threatened in Victoria. David Cameron of the Department of Sustainability and the Environment has undertaken an IUCN assessment for its status in Victoria and has assessed it as Critically Endangered.The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) assessment is a methodology used to systematically assess threatened species in a consistent manner. Information about the assessment process and methodology can be found at: http://intranet.iucn.org/webfiles/doc/SSC/RedList/RedListGuidelines.pdf.
The introduction provides a good outline of the tool.
More information can also be found about the IUCN at: http://www.iucn.org/

Article – Peter Morison