Tuggeranong Lignum (Muehlenbeckia tuggeranong)

Description

The Tuggeranong Lignum is a species only found in the ACT.
Plants grow on flood terraces around 550 m above sea level, in areas with rocky outcrops and sandy soil.
It grows on nearly bare rock, or tangled amongst other vegetation.
They grow as a sprawling loose tangled mound of wiry stems 1 m tall and 1-2 m wide, have cream and green flowers.
Tuggeranong Lignum plants are either male or female.
After severe flooding events in the early 2020s, no female plants are known to remain in the wild.
Clones of all individuals from the wild, including both females, are secured in a conservation population at the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG).
Pollination and seed production has been observed for the first time ever for this species at the ANBG.
Seedlings and young plants have been successfully grown and maintained within the ANBG.

They are only found in the ACT on flood terraces on the eastern bank of the Murrumbidgee River south of Canberra, in the Murrumbidgee River Corridor.

All individual plants are secured in an offsite conservation population at the ANBG.

The Tuggeranong Lignum faces several threats to its survival. They’re vulnerable to factors such as:

Many weeds are a problem along the Murrumbidgee River Corridor. There are ongoing efforts to remove invasive weeds that threaten the plant.

Mesh cages are sometimes placed around the plants to protect them from grazing animals. This has helped to improve their condition.

National – Endangered (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999).
Australian Capital Territory – Endangered (Nature Conservation Act 2014), Special Protection Status Species (Nature Conservation Act 2014).

Conservation actions aim to:

manage weeds and carefully planning fires around each plant
place cages around plants to reduce grazing
regularly checks on the plants to monitor their health
grow new plants from cuttings and seed and moving them to suitable areas
protect all Tuggeranong Lignum populations in the ACT
manage habitats to help the populations grow and spread
create new populations of the plants in suitable areas
look for new plants and checking on the existing ones
partner with government agencies, water suppliers, and research groups to help the species
work with non-government groups to carry out conservation actions
involve the community in monitoring and raising awareness.