Nature conservation

Threatened species

Hibbertia sp. Bankstown - profile

Indicative distribution


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Key:
known
predicted
The areas shown in pink and/purple are the sub-regions where the species or community is known or predicted to occur. They may not occur thoughout the sub-region but may be restricted to certain areas. ( click here to see geographic restrictions). The information presented in this map is only indicative and may contain errors and omissions.
Scientific name: Hibbertia sp. Bankstown
Conservation status in NSW: Critically Endangered
Commonwealth status: Critically Endangered
Gazetted date: 23 Apr 2010
Profile last updated: 29 Jul 2019

Description

Hibbertia sp. Bankstown is a prostrate shrub with spreading, hairless, wiry branches up to 40 cm in length. Its leaves are 3 to 6 mm long by 0.8 to 1.4 mm wide, lance shaped and oblong to almost linear. The flowers are yellow with notched petals.

Toelken and Miller have described the entity as a subspecies of the (also threatened) H. puberula as H. puberula subsp. glabrescens in 2012 (see reference details at end). That description is copied below:

Branches thread-like wiry from short stiff-woody stems. Leaf lamina mainly elliptic-oblong. Outer calyx lobes linear-lanceolate, (5.3–) 5.5–6.1 (–6.3) × 1.6–2.1mm, not beaked and with scarcely recurved margins and faint central ridge towards the apex, glabrescent or sparsely pubescent; inner calyx lobes narrowly oblongovate, (4.6–) 4.8–5.2 (–5.6) × 2.1–2.3 (–2.7) mm, innermost two abruptly constricted into minute terminal mucro continuous with broad membranous margins, glabrous or glabrescent along central ridge. Stamens 12–14; anthers 0.9–1.3 mm long. Flowering: October, November (December).

Toelken HR & Miller RT (2012) Notes on Hibbertia (Dilleniaceae) 8. Seven new species, a new combination and four new subspecies from subgen. Hemistemma, mainly from the central coast of New South Wales. J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 25: 71–96

Distribution

This species is endemic to New South Wales and is currently known to occur in only one population at Bankstown Airport in Sydney’s southern suburbs, in the Bankstown local government area.

Citing Toelken & Miller:

known only from Tertiary alluvial soil along Airport Creek on Bankstown Airport and not from areas where subsequent fill has been deposited in between (Gibson 2007a, b). The plant assemblage is attributable to “Cooks River/Castlereagh Ironbark Forest in the Sydney Basin Bioregion".

Habitat and ecology

  • The airport site is very heavily modified from the natural state, lacks canopy species and is currently a low grass/shrub association with many pasture grasses and other introduced herbaceous weeds.
  • Soil at the site is a sandy (Tertiary) alluvium with a high silt content.
  • The remnant at the site and soil type are consistent with an inferred pre-settlement cover of Castlereagh Ironbark Forest although some remnant vegetation at and near the site (along the channel in particular) suggests Castlereagh Scribbly Gum Woodland is equally valid.
  • Hibbertia sp. Bankstown has been observed to flower from October to December, with seed setting from October to January. Most Hibbertia species are primarily pollinated by bees, but many have specialised mechanisms requiring particular bee species, beetles or syrphid flies.

Regional distribution and habitat

Click on a region below to view detailed distribution, habitat and vegetation information.


Threats

Recovery strategies

Activities to assist this species

IBRA Bioregion IBRA Subregion Known or predicted Geographic restrictions region
Sydney BasinCumberland Known None
Sydney BasinSydney Cataract Known None