Saving the Spiny Daisy
It was once believed to be extinct, but the native spiny daisy is now blooming strongly across Banrock Station.
It was presumed to be extinct for many years before being rediscovered in 1999 when a farmer spotted a plant at the edge of his paddock in South Australia’s mid-north.
Since then, the species has been the subject of a concerted conservation effort by the Spiny Daisy Recovery Team under the guidance of the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, and supported by Trees For Life. With that, a program to replenish the critically-endangered species started at Banrock Station in the Riverland in 2014 with a mission to transplant the spiny daisy to as many different locations as possible will help to ensure the species will not be wiped out by events such as bushfires. Our Wetlands manager Tim Field described the program as a way to bring the small, prickly plant back from the brink of actual extinction, and had so far he has enjoyed incredible success. “It’s one of the rarest plants in Australia and on Earth. There are only six [genetic] individuals left in the wild.” The operation has been funded by the Banrock Station Environmental Trust.