Flora of the Hunter Region: Endemic Trees and Larger Shrubs

INTRODUCTION

The Hunter Region

The Hunter region lies mid-way along the coast of New South Wales, approximately 100 km north of Sydney. It encompasses a vast array of landscapes and habitats representative of coastal, tableland and western slopes environments. Contemporary accounts of the vegetation in this area, mostly in the grey literature, describe a variety of rainforests, wet and dry sclerophyll forests, grassy and shrubby woodlands, heathlands and scrubs, grasslands, sedgelands, and swamps (e.g. NPWS 2000; Somerville 2009; DECC 2008; OEH 2012). These habitats provide for a highly diverse flora, and one ranging from sea level to over 1500 m in elevation, at Barrington Tops on the Great Dividing Range. Rainfall is highly variable across this region, with annual average falls of 1500 mm per year on the Barrington Tops, to less than 700 mm per year in the western districts. Snowfalls are not uncommon on the higher parts of the Great Dividing Range, and occur several times in most years. Average daytime temperatures in winter vary from 5°C on the Barrington Tops, 14°C in inland districts, and 18°C along the coast. During summer, average daytime temperatures rise to 27°C on the coast and 32°C inland, with extremes over 45°C occasionally being recorded. Geology and soils across this area include recent deposition of sediments and sands along the coastal zone and major river systems, to older soils derived from Tertiary, Triassic, Permian and Carboniferous bedrock. Along the coast just north of Newcastle, Stockton Beach comprises over 20 km of sand dunes and is the largest expanse of mobile dunes in the Southern Hemisphere.

Botanically speaking, the Hunter region lies at the junction of three major botanical divisions (coast, tablelands and western slopes) comprising five subdivisions (Anderson 1961). The Central Coast and North Coast subdivisions meet in the vicinity of Pulbah Island in Lake Macquarie, while adjoining them to the west near Singleton is the Central Western Slopes subdivision. The low elevation of the Great Dividing Range in the west of the Hunter allows the Central Western Slopes subdivision to reach its most easterly extent at this location. The Central Tablelands subdivision, originating near Goulburn in the south, extends into central Wollemi National Park along the southern edge of the region, while the Northern Tablelands subdivision extends down from the New England area to take in the Barrington Tops and Liverpool Range. The two Tablelands subdivisions do not meet, but are separated by the broad valley of the Hunter River.

Creating a sensible boundary that encapsulates such diversity of habitats within the region has been a difficult task. Taken conservatively, the catchment of the Hunter River (the major waterway in this part of NSW) occupies 21,460 km², but this area excludes a number of important adjacent habitats that are colloquially considered by many to be part of ‘the Hunter’. Given its proximity to the Sydney region and the Sydney-centric mentality that has persisted in many other flora treatments, it was important that a definition for the Hunter did not neglect landscapes that occur between these two regions. Equally, while there has long been a focus on the NSW North Coast for the diversity of vegetation present there, locations at the southern extremity of that region, perhaps not so well endowed with the more emotive subtropical rainforests, are rarely catered for. So with this logic in mind, a definition for the Hunter region centred on the catchment of the Hunter River, but which also includes the drainage basins of minor coastal rivers south to the Hawkesbury River and north to the Manning River, was settled on. From a land management perspective, this area approximates well the NSW Government’s Hunter Local Land Services region, but with a slight extension south to the Hawkesbury River. The region includes the following local government administrative jurisdictions: Central Coast, Cessnock, Dungog, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Midcoast, Muswellbrook, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Singleton, and Upper Hunter. In total, the Hunter region so defined occupies some 35,260 km², and includes the major coastal water bodies of Brisbane Water, Tuggerah Lake, Budgewoi Lake, Lake Munmorah, Lake Macquarie, Nelson Bay, and the Myall Lakes.

Why Endemic Species?

The flora of any geographical area can support any number of significant and common plant taxa. Considering the size of the Hunter region as defined in this work, selecting taxa from a total diversity of between 4000 and 5000 to illustrate and profile is an onerous task. At present, there are no field guides dedicated to the identification of flora within the Hunter region, although several from adjacent areas are more than useful for this purpose (e.g. Robinson 2003; Kemp 2004; Pellow et al. 2009; Fairley & Moore 2010; Cunningham et al. 2011). These works and others have included a range of common and rare species, while some have highlighted only those plants that are rare or legally protected through government legislation (e.g. NPWS 2000; Fairley 2004). Still others have specialised in certain groups of plants both within the region (e.g. Burton 2015), and across far greater areas (e.g. Tame 1992; Boland et al. 2006; Floyd 2008; Watson 2011).

But this work is about endemic species: those plants that occur only or almost exclusively within the Hunter region. There are over 100 endemic taxa known from this region, occurring across a range of habitats and locations. Some are relatively common and widespread (e.g. Acacia piligera, Eucalyptus canaliculata, Pimelea latifolia subsp. elliptifolia), while others like Acacia dangarensis and Persoonia pauciflora are highly restricted and known only from single localities. Many are legally protected through relevant threatened species legislation, others qualify for such protection but are yet to be recognised as such. A few, such as Paenula storyi and Cassinia storyi have not been seen since their original collection many decades ago, while recently defined taxa such as Hibbertia stichodonta and Cassinia thinicola can be locally common but are seldom recorded because of taxonomic confusion with similar species.

Over the course of preparation of this work, new collections and taxonomic revisions have occasionally necessitated re-assessment of what constitutes an endemic species. Some species which have historically been recognised as only occurring within the region have now been shown to occur elsewhere. Several, such as Veronica sobolifera, are predominantly Hunter taxa but also occur in outlying disjunct populations elsewhere: in the case of Veronica, on the New England tableland. These species have been retained as endemics to recognise that the Hunter region is their prime area of occurrence. New taxa (Acacia wollarensis and Leionema lamprophyllum subsp. fractum) have also been described as a result of the research underpinning this work, and several other regional novelties not included are currently under investigation. Some included taxa remain formally undescribed (e.g. Hovea sp. ‘Watchimbark’, Ozothamnus argophyllus subsp. ‘Careys Peak’), but these have been recognised as distinct entities by several workers for some time. Other taxa or populations formerly accepted as distinct, and seemingly endemic to the Hunter, have on re-assessment been considered synonyms of other more widespread species. These taxa, mainly terrestrial orchids, have been omitted from this work, and include species such as Corybas dowlingii D.L. Jones, Caladenia porphyrea D.L. Jones, and Diuris bracteata Fitzg.

In addition to the taxa accepted as Hunter endemics, there are many other putative taxa that currently remain undescribed. Taxonomy is a slow and time-consuming science, and it has not been possible to address all endemics with questionable taxonomy requiring further clarification. New novelties from the region are continually being discovered and noted by various workers, and include for example the orchid Chiloglottis aff. pluricallata ‘Barrington Tops’ (Bishop 2000); the grass Lachnagrostis sp. ‘Barrington Tops’ (J.R.Hosking 3021); the graminoids Dianella aff. longifolia ‘Porters Wetland’ (D. Carr pers. comm.) and Dianella aff. amoena (J.R.Hosking 2863); the herbs Brachyscome sp. ‘Coolah Tops’ (J.R.Hosking 3527), Hibbertia aff. acicularis ‘Bylong’ and Hibbertia aff. stricta ‘Wingen Maid’ (J. Hosking, pers. comm.); the shrub Astrotricha sp. ‘Watchimbark’ (P.Gilmour 7938); and the eucalypt Eucalyptus aff. agglomerata ‘Kurri’ (Bell 2004a).

Other taxa are represented disjunctly in the Hunter, and further work is required to clarify their status relative to core distributions elsewhere. Two Hibbertia, for example, are considered likely to constitute distinct taxa. Hibbertia procumbens (Labill.) DC. is currently listed as endangered in New South Wales, but is locally abundant in and around the Somersby Plateau on Hawkesbury sandstone geology (Bell 2002; Bell & Driscoll 2005). Elsewhere, this species is common in Victoria and Tasmania, c. 700 km south of the Somersby location. A revision to this group will likely result in the designation of a new name for the Somersby population. Similarly, two collections of Hibbertia elata Maiden & Betche from the Hunter over thirty years ago (NSW538133, Gungal-Merriwa Road 14 km southeast of Merriwa, 20 Nov 1984; NSW224470, Rylstone, Nov 1986) may likely represent a new taxon given other populations occur only in the Wallangarra district of Queensland, c. 500 km to the north. Repeated, targeted searches on several occasions at the Merriwa site in recent years have failed to re-locate any plants, stifling attempts to advance taxonomic resolution of this entity.

In view of the large number of plants endemic to the Hunter region, this treatment has, of necessity, been presented in two volumes. The first of these (the present volume) encompasses 54 taxa and includes all of the trees and larger shrubs. The eucalypts and wattles are the most widely represented groups in this volume. The second volume currently in production includes over 50 of the smaller shrubs, cycads, orchids and forbs, with the ground orchids not surprisingly comprising the largest contingent there. Together, approximately 100 of the endemic plant species known from the Hunter will be documented and fully illustrated in these two volumes.

There is evidently a great variety of endemic taxa within the Hunter region, and still more yet to be recognised. While our current understanding encompasses most of the major plant groups, there are (apart from orchids) few monocots (grasses, sedges, rushes) or non-flowering plants (ferns, conifers etc). This may be a reflection of the relatively low diversity of taxa displayed by these groups in this region, or simply that taxonomic research has stalled. In any case, it points to further research priorities. Ultimately, the conservation and management of all Hunter endemics rests with those who live and work within the Hunter region: today’s endemic species may well be tomorrow’s threatened taxa.

Plant Descriptions

Taxonomy followed in this work is as accepted at the National Herbarium of NSW, and specifically as presented in the PlantNET online flora (http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/floraonline.htm). As in most disciplines of science, taxonomists do not always agree on the identification or taxonomic rank of some taxa, and disagreements occur from time to time. In many cases these differences can be addressed by the inclusion of synonyms for problem taxa, but on occasion readers may question the legitimacy of some entities. For example, Eucalyptus conjuncta, included in the present volume, remains a currently accepted taxon in New South Wales but most taxonomists elsewhere in Australia recognise the probable hybrid origin of this species and refer to it as ‘Eucalyptus x conjuncta’. Similarly, comparison to the vulnerable Eucalyptus dissita in the treatment of E. serpentinicola (this volume) remains valid while ever the former species is an accepted entity in New South Wales; elsewhere, this taxon is considered synonymous with E. moorei (e.g. Nicolle 2018).

Wherever possible, the original taxonomic protologue describing each included taxa has been accessed and adopted verbatim in the text. This has been a deliberate ploy, as many of these have been published in out-of-print monographs, or in journals and books difficult to access by the general public. Protologues are ordinarily considerably detailed, and contain a wealth of important diagnostic information which is rarely carried over to field guides and Floras. There are exceptions, and the level of detail contained in protologues varies widely between different authors. For some taxa, such as Tetratheca juncea and Grevillea oldei (both presented in the second volume), the limited information contained in their protologues has been augmented by later authors to provide a more rounded description. Conversely, the protologues of taxa such as Acacia alaticaulis and A. kulnurensis are particularly detailed, and due to space limitations have been lightly edited. For other taxa recognised at subspecific rank (e.g. Phebalium glandulosum subsp. angustifolium), information from the protologue for the parent taxon has been added to the limited information published for the subspecies. In some cases, such as for the eucalypt Eucalyptus fergusonii subsp. dorsiventralis, more contemporary descriptions have been preferred over the considerably older original narratives, which often presented very limited taxonomic information. Descriptive text from EucaLink (a web site established by the late Ken Hill, National Herbarium of NSW) has been used for some eucalypts (e.g. Eucalyptus largeana, E. rudderi) to expand the brief information found in their original protologues. For novel taxa, taxonomic descriptions have been prepared based on newly collected material and adapted from existing text on closely related species, to assist readers in the identification of these as- yet unnamed entities. Notations or measurements enclosed in [ ] signify where original details have been converted from imperial measurements, are historically uncertain or have been clarified in other ways.

Common names are not available for most Australian plants, and many of the taxa included in this book generally do not support them. Where established common names are absent, as gleaned from the literature, these have been suggested (enclosed in ‘ ’) to aid public communication and further work.

Type Specimens

Formal description of plant species requires the designation of a ‘type’ specimen, to which the official description defining the characteristics of that taxon is linked. ‘Type’ specimens are maintained and housed by herbaria and museums throughout the world, and whenever there is uncertainty in the identity of a particular specimen, comparison can be made directly with the original plant material. There are several forms of ‘type’ material, and three in particular have been regularly mentioned in this work. Most plant species will have a designated ‘holotype’, which is the single specimen identified by the describing author(s) as typical of the new taxon. ‘Syntypes’ can also be applied in cases where the describing author fails to designate a single holotype, and if several specimens of equal rank have been used to describe the new taxon. In cases where a single specimen is selected from among the syntypes sometime after the original description, a ‘lectotype’ may be designated. Commonly, the lectotype is selected by a later author to best represent that taxon due to the loss of original material through fire or other disaster. For all described taxa treated in this work, the herbarium catalogue number for type or lectotype material has been included with the type location.

Information on ‘type’ collections and locations has been gleaned from a number of sources. Principal among these has been the Australia Virtual Herbarium, the Australian Plant Name Index, the Kew Herbarium Catalogue in the United Kingdom, and the Global Plants database managed by J-STOR. For the plant taxa included in this work, type specimens are housed across a range of herbaria; most are in the National Herbarium of New South Wales in Sydney (NSW), while others