National recovery plan for Twenty-five threatened orchid taxa of Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales 2003 - 2007

Coates, F., Jeanes, J. and Pritchard, A.
Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne, 2002

Appendix 3

Distribution:: Endemic to Victoria - Victorian Highlands - Northern Fall Bioregion, but known only from the type locality near Cobungra. No precise records exist to indicate its former distribution, but likely to have been a short-range endemic in the Omeo area.

Abundance:: Probably extinct. Only known from a single population consisting of fewer than 15 plants at the type locality. No plants have been seen in recent years. No records exist to indicate its former distribution, but P. morganii is likely to have been naturally rare with an extremely small population size.

Habitat:: Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp. pauciflora open forest at about 1,000 m above sea level (Backhouse and Jeanes 1995). Sunny side of a small ridge running down to Spring Creek. Soil is inclined to be clayey, with a little quartz and sandstone among it (Nicholls 1930). Critical habitat has not been determined.

Current and potential threats:
Current threats	Perceived risk
Weed invasion	Likely to be high - habitat has been improved for pasture.
Grazing/pest animals	Extremely high - site is grazed by cattle.
Inappropriate fire regimes	Probably low at present.
Site disturbance	Extremely high - habitat altered by ring-barking trees.
Reservation status	Unreserved
Potential threats	Perceived risk
Illegal collection	Low - no evidence of collection in the past.
Ecology/biology	Moderate - conditions for maintenance of pollinator and fungal activity unknown; small population size.

Recovery objectives:

Revise current conservation status to Extinct.

Recovery actions undertaken:

Issues specific to recovery:

There is strong evidence to indicate that P. morganii is extinct. Searches by J. Jeanes and a number of orchid society members, field naturalists and other enthusiasts over the last 10 years have failed to re-locate the known population or any other populations in the area.

Overall recovery strategy:

Revise the current conservation status to Extinct.

Consultation:

D. Rouse (Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Canberra).

Actions
Action	Cobungra
1. Determine current conservation status
1.1 Clarify taxonomy	Completed
1.2 Acquire baseline population data	Completed
Responsibility	DSE-BNR

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