The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania’s (NRE Tas) Threatened Species Section are implementing emergency conservation actions for the Davies’ Waxflower (Phebalium daviesii) Recovery Project.
Davies wax flower (Phebalium daviesii)
In 2024, NRE Tas secured funding of $397,665 for the Project through a Commonwealth Saving Native Species (Priority Species) Grant.
The Recovery Project aims to prevent the extinction of the species by establishing insurance populations through a large-scale translocation program.
By 2026, around 1000 Davies’ waxflowers will be grown and translocated into new sites in the St Helens area. A collection of plants will also be kept at the Botanical Gardens as part of a genetically diverse seed orchard. A number of other conservation actions will also be undertaken such as weed control and fire risk planning.
NRE Tas’s Senior Botanist Joe Quarmby, who initiated the Project, said they have already made some major steps to help the species.
“Propagation efforts at the Gardens are currently underway, with thousands of juvenile Davies’ waxflowers being cultivated,” he said.
“Under management by nursery staff, these plants are progressing on schedule for translocation into four sites in the St Helens area this September.”
NRE Tas Project team setting up a novel herbivore exclusion experiment for Davies Waxflower
NRE Tas Ecologist Carla Bruinsma said the Project aims to increase the population size to 2,500 mature individuals by 2030 and increase the number of subpopulations to five and increase the geographic range to 1000km.
“In the long-term this Project aims to build a self-sustaining population of Davies’ waxflower in the wild,” she said.
The Davies’ waxflower is endemic to Tasmania and is only known from a single population near St Helens, with fewer than 35 mature individuals remaining in the wild. Over the past 25 years, the population has declined by approximately 30% and it is projected to become extinct within the next 20 years unless urgent action is taken.
The species is at imminent risk from catastrophic events such as floods and bushfires, and other threats including Phytophthora, native herbivore browsing and weed invasion.
The project would not be possible without the help of partner organisations, including the Royal Tasmanian Botanic Gardens, Tasmanian Seed Conservation Centre, Threatened Plants Tasmania, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and Landscape Recovery Foundation.
NRE Tas is also seeking volunteers for upcoming planting events for this Project on 10, 11, 13 and 14 September 2025. There will be a maximum of 30 volunteers per day.
More information on volunteering and how to express your interest, is available on the Threatened Plants Tasmania Inc website.
NRE Tas Project team Carla and Joe setting up a novel herbivore exclusion experiment for Davies Waxflower