Endangered eucalyptus sprouts find new home at Gargarro

Two sprouts of Eucalyptus stenostoma, also known as Jillaga ash, were planted in the front grassy plains area by the two directors for horticulture at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne and Cranbourne locations, Clare Hart and Tex Moon, as well as the horticulturist who helped procure the seeds, Amy Downie.

This planting represents a crucial climate adaptation trial for these sprouts, which naturally thrive only in specific dry forest and woodland environments.

The species was classified as endangered in 2023 after the 2020 bushfires decimated populations in Wadbilliga and Deua national parks in NSW.

As stenostoma does not regenerate after fire, the risk of total extinction was immediate.

When Threatened Species Conservancy was assessing the damage to the area, Ms Downie said the team spotted a cliff face where some of the trees had miraculously survived the fires.

“They reached out to me because they had heard I had been doing a bit of climbing and abseiling for conservation purposes at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne,” she said.

“They asked if I could survey this population of eucalyptus that’s growing on this cliff face — and I said ‘absolutely’.”

So she, with a specialist team of researchers, horticulturists and experienced abseilers equipped with professional climbing gear, ventured deep into Wadbilliga National Park last October, conquering a treacherous 90-foot cliff face to harvest seeds from this endangered stenostoma eucalyptus.

Ms Downie said hanging from a rope off the side of a cliff face collecting seeds was one of the coolest things she had ever done.

The team then strategically dispersed the precious seeds across multiple secure locations including the Deua Botanic Gardens, the Australian PlantBank and the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne and Cranbourne sites, as well as several regional botanic gardens, such as Bendigo and Castlemaine.

Gargarro was one of the gardens that the Royal Botanic Gardens asked to try the seedlings.

“It’s important to have this spread of collections just in case the worst were to happen again, and another fire were to burn through the cliff face and destroy that small population of trees,” Ms Downie said.

“It’s not necessarily that they’re the perfect fit for here, but I think it’s an experimentation of how do they grow in this area’s climate, and learning more about them as well.”

Researchers will be monitoring the seedlings closely to see how they adapt to Girgarre’s climate, and if successful, within decades a mature 25-metre eucalyptus could transform Gargarro’s grassy plains.

Gargarro has been in the works for the past 10 years, and Tuesday’s planting was a chance for the state’s botanical experts to see how far it had come and the potential it was yet to unlock.

Housing an endangered species such as the stenostoma is another step towards making Gargarro a bigger player in Australia’s botanical conservation landscape.

It’s a feat Gargarro project convener Athol ‘Doc’ McDonald doesn’t take for granted.

“We’ve got some really significant players walking around our gardens today,” he said.

“It’s very rewarding to have that trust placed in us.”