School of Biological Sciences School of Biological Sciences
Site search

Over 100 eucalypt tree species newly recommended for threatened listing

20 Feb 2020
Eucalyptus macrocarpa
Eucalyptus macrocarpa, with the Noongar name of mottlecah, was assessed as Vulnerable under IUCN Criteria due to population declines of between 30-50%. The species is found in the wheatbelt of south-western Western Australia, which has been heavily cleared for wheat cropping. Mottlecah grows to 5 m and has large blue-grey leaves, white waxy flower buds and large red flowers up to 7 cm wide.

The Threatened Species Recovery Hub has undertaken a conservation assessment of every Australian eucalypt tree species and found that over 190 species meet internationally recognised criteria for listing as threatened: most of these are not currently listed as threatened.  

Associate Professor Rod Fensham at the University of Queensland said the team assessed all 822 Australian eucalypt species against the criteria set by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM.

Read the full story

Latest