Partnerships in action for threatened flora
Some plants don’t make it easy…
We're collaborating with the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board and the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre to propagate the threatened Monarto Mintbush (Prostanthera eurybioides), a species known for its strong physiological seed dormancy.
Each seed is enclosed within a hard protective shell and sealed with a plug that typically opens only after bushfire or heavy autumn rainfall. While this adaptation helps the species survive in a challenging environment, in nature, this trait makes natural recruitment challenging, with low germination rates.
To overcome this challenge, the Seed Conservation Centre uses specialised heat and chemical treatments to bypass dormancy. Laboratory trials help identify the most effective germination techniques before treated seed is passed on to our skilled nursery managers, who carefully germinate and grow the seedlings ready for revegetation projects.
Including threatened species like the Monarto Mintbush in our revegetation programs is vital for preventing regional extinctions and rebuilding the unique biodiversity of our landscapes. It's a great example of how collaboration between researchers, conservation organisations and nursery practitioners can achieve outcomes that none of us could deliver alone.
