Bertya tasmanica subsp. tasmanica, Family Euphorbiaceae, also known as the Tasmanian Bertya, is a monoecious (separate male and female flowers on the same plant), or sometimes dioecious (separate male and female plants), multi-branched, shrub that grows to 2.5 m tall. New or young growth is tomentose (woolly coated) with hairs being stellate (star-shaped). Golden, bell-shaped flowers appear from spring to summer. Male flowers contain numerous stamens united in a central column. Female flowers have a trilocular (three-chambered) ovary with one ovule in each locule, and three branched styles. The ovary is stellate-tomentose. Narrow-linear leaves are alternate, sessile (growing directly from the stem) or subsessile, 8–20 mm long, with margins coiled strongly downwards. The upper leaf surface is usually glabrous (smooth or without hairs), while the lower surface is white-tomentose. Recruitment is from seed, which is hard coated, suggesting that it may survive in the soil for some time. Fruits are densely hairy, ovoid-oblong and 6–8 mm long. The Tasmanian Bertya can be distinguished from the mainland subspecies Bertya tasmanica subsp. vestita by the presence of glabrous calyx (group of sepals) lobes on the female flowers. The latter subspecies has sparsely to densely stellate-pubescent calyx lobes. The Tasmanian Bertya has been confused with the introduced plant Erica scoparia. However, E. scoparia has shorter leaves and abundant flowers that readily fall off dried samples.
Tasmanian Bertya |
Bertya tasmanica subsp. tasmanica
Status: Endangered on the EPBC Act list
Government evidence of impact of climate change:
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Australian Government, Conservation Advice, Bertya tasmanica subsp. tasmanica
Threats The main identified threats to the Tasmanian Bertya are land clearance and habitat fragmentation; residential development; competition from weeds (especially Gorse Ulex europaeus); inappropriate fire regimes; impoundment construction and altered flow regimes; agricultural activities and browsing and trampling by stock (TSS; 2010).
Inappropriate fire regimes are a potential threat to Tasmanian Bertya; though this species response to fire is poorly known.
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Australian Government, Listing Advices, Bertya tasmanica subsp. tasmanica
All extant populations continue to be threatened by land clearance and habitat fragmentation; residential development; competition from weeds; inappropriate fire regimes and agricultural activities.
There has been a historical decline in the number of populations since the 1840s and evidence suggests that the number of populations are likely to continue to decline as all extant populations are threatened by land clearance and habitat fragmentation; residential development; competition from weeds; inappropriate fire regimes and agricultural activities.
These six extant populations are prone to a number of threats; which include land clearance and habitat fragmentation; residential development; competition from weeds; inappropriate fire regimes and agricultural activities.
Ongoing threats to this species include land clearance and habitat fragmentation; residential development; competition from weeds; inappropriate fire regimes and agricultural activities.
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