A PLANT previously thought to be extinct in Victoria has been rediscovered in the Mallee following last year’s flooding.
The bearded flat sedge had last been seen in Victoria 70 years ago in 1953, but populations were discovered in recent surveying efforts.
Botanists from the state government’s Victorian Forest Monitoring Program found populations of an unidentifiable sedge post flooding.
A sample of the plant was then sent to botanists at Victoria’s Royal Botanical Gardens, who confirmed the plant was a match to the bearded flat sedge.
The Royal Botanical Gardens director and chief executive Tim Entwisle said the gardens’ reference collection was critical to the identification.
“Our botanists not only examined it but also compared the plant to specimens that we hold in our collection of dried plants,” he said.
“We actually had collections from the early 1950s so we had those original collections to compare it against and it happened to be a complete match.
“Discoveries like this certainly give us hope that these plants that we think are gone are actually still there.
Professor Entwisle said last year’s flooding was likely the reason for the plant’s reappearance.
“We don’t know a lot about the biology of this particular plant but we know that it likes wet, marshy areas,” he said.
“It might just be that getting soaked for that particular time may have assisted in triggering the seed to germinate.
“It could have also been that the flooding may have disturbed some of the ground, which has brought a seed to the surface and into the sunlight.
“We can’t be entirely sure, but it does seem very likely that this particular event has helped the plant.
“It’s not common to have a plant that is considered extinct in a particular state and then have it rediscovered.
“This certain set of circumstances has basically meant that a plant has almost come back to life, and it was a big surprise to the botanists.”
Professor Entwisle said discoveries like this were important in getting communities thinking about native plants.
“It demonstrates the importance of the collections that we hold in the State Botanical Collection and the importance of people keeping their eye out,” he said.
“This was from the environment department and the 1950s collection was from a really keen naturalist who lived in Mildura, a lady named Hilda Ramsay.
“It all points to the fact that the more people who are out there looking then the better we can track these plants.
“Fundamentally, these plants are a part of our natural flora which we don’t want to lose.
“Losing any part of what takes millions of years to evolve is a great loss for us all.”
While botanists are overjoyed with the discovery, they are not yet revealing the exact location of the bearded flat sedge’s populations in Victoria.
