Reassessment of the vascular flora of Rottnest Island

17 Pages·2003·6.6 MB·English

by  E Rippey

Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 86:7-23, 2003
Reassessment of the vascular flora of Rottnest Island
E Rippey,1,2 M C Hislop,3 & J Dodd14
1 Rottnest Voluntary Guides Association, Rottnest Island, WA 6161
2 Department of Geography, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009
3 [email protected]
3 WA Herbarium, George Street, Kensington, WA 6151 3 [email protected]
4 Department of Agriculture, Baron-Hay Court, South Perth, WA 6151
3 jdodd@agric,wa.gov.au
(Manuscript received March 2002; accepted December 2002)
Abstract
A survey of the vascular flora of Rottnest Island, carried out between 1998 and 2001 with the
aim of recording all native and introduced species, was compared with previous lists, and the
nomenclature was reconciled and updated. A total of 246 native and introduced species have been
recorded for the island, of which 196 species were found in 1998-2001. A survey in the late 1950s
had recorded a similar total number of species (201) but the proportion of native species had
dropped over the period between censuses from 62% in the 1950s to 58% in 1998-2001. Despite the
relatively constant species total, the flora of Rottnest is dynamic, with 44 species known to have
been present in the late 1950s not recorded at the end of the century, while 38 additional species
were found in 1998/2001, giving a rate of turnover of 1% pa. In this paper, an annotated flora list of
246 recorded species is given as well as a list of 122 deleted names, with reasons for their exclusion
from the flora list. Thirty-five cultivated species collected from outside of gardens, but which had
not become naturalised, are listed separately.
Keywords: vascular flora, Rottnest Island, species turnover rate, immigration, extinction, island
biogeography
Introduction tree species have been unable to regenerate naturally and
a depauperate, sclerophyllous grassy heath has become
Rottnest Island has been the subject of intensive
the most widespread community on the island. This
biological research due to its diversity of marine and
consists mainly of Acanthocarpus preissii and Austrostipa
terrestrial habitats, and its proximity to Perth-based
flavescens (Hesp et al. 1983), although the exotic geophyte
research centres (Hodgkin & Sheard 1959; Bradshaw
Trachyandra divaricata has become an important
1983; Huisman & Walker 1990; Wells et al 1991; Walker
constituent, having spread since the 1950s when it
& Wells 1996). As a result, much of the island's
seldom occurred away from coastal dunes (Storr 1962).
biodiversity has been documented.
Between 1998-2001 the Rottnest Voluntary Guides
It was during the 1950s that the first in-depth botanical
collected about 400 specimens of vascular plants, to
explorations took place. McArthur (1957) compared the
establish the Rottnest Regional Herbarium (RRH).
flora of Rottnest, Carnac and Garden Islands. Storr (1962)
Identification by the Western Australian Herbarium of
published a more complete annotated list of the Rottnest
RRH specimens provided the basis for reconciling
Island flora that formed the basis for subsequent floristic
previously published lists, and enabled the size and
lists, specifically those of O'Connor (1977) and Frewer et
composition of the flora to be re-assessed. This paper
al (1985). These latter accounts accepted much of the
thus provides the first specimen-based list of the vascular
information reported by Storr (1962) but included some
plants of Rottnest Island.
changes in nomenclature and added a few new
observations. Marchant & Abbott (1981) reviewed
previous surveys and listed those species recorded for
Methods
Rottnest and Garden Islands, and updated the
nomenclature. Also available was a list of specimens All native and naturalised vascular species were
from Rottnest Island lodged with the Western Australian targeted for the Rottnest Regional Herbarium, including
Herbarium prior to 21st May 2001. aquatic angiosperms from the salt lakes, freshwater
swamps and surrounding ocean. The plants of two islets
There were no major disturbance events on Rottnest
off Rottnest Island, Dyer and Green, and Little Island in
Island from 1955 to the end of the twentieth century. The
Lake Baghdad, were included. Cultivated trees and
quokka (Setonix brachyurus) population remained at
shrubs growing outside (but not inside) fenced gardens
saturation level, fires were prevented or rapidly
were also collected. All major habitats including the
controlled, and the island was run as a conservation
Settlement, woodlands, salt lakes, swamps, heathlands,
reserve for recreation and tourism. Under this regime
and coastal areas were visited several times, at different
seasons. Efforts were made to include differing
topographical features within these areas, such as hills,
© Royal Society of Western Australia 2003 rocky outcrops, swales and headlands.
7
Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 86(1), March 2003
Forty volunteers took part in the earlier collecting standardised searches by professional botanists recorded
sessions and a total of approximately 500 person hours only 79% of the best estimate and the authors concluded
was spent in collecting specimens. The surveys were that at most only 1% of the vascular plant species present
intended to cover as much of the island as was feasible in on an island becomes extinct annually (Nilsson & Nilssoi\
the time available. There was no formal grid survey 1985). Whittaker (1998) noted that most turnover studies
pattern established nor were quadrats or transects are in fact merely rates of changes in lists (as is this
included in the survey. All previously listed species were survey), and that turnover figures can be distorted by
targeted, and recorded source areas were searched. At 'crypto-turnover' (exclusion of species that botl\
the time of collecting, details of each plant and its immigrated and became extinct between surveys), and
provisional identification, habitat, and locality were 'pseudo-turnover' (incomplete censuses).
noted. Latitude and longitude were estimated from a
Nevertheless, an assessment is made here using th^
photocopied aerial photograph on which a grid had been
available information. Turnover is taken as a combined
superimposed. The soil type and the nature of the
effect of species 'extinction' and 'immigration'. A species
vegetation in which the collected plant was growing
was listed as extinct if it had been recorded previously,
were also recorded.
but was not listed in the latest census. Similarly the terrr\
Each collection consisted of two specimens, one of 'immigrated' is applied to species recorded in the recent
which was submitted to the WA Herbarium for survey, but not previously. Turnover, immigration and
identification. These specimens were retained, apart from extinction rates are calculated as suggested by Abbott
those of cultivated species that had not become (1977) and Abbott & Black (1980); rate of turnover =*
naturalised. The Rottnest Regional Herbarium retained 200(I+E)/[ (S, +S2). (t2- t,)]; extinction rate = 200 (E)/[(S
the duplicate specimens of all species collected. Where +S2) (t2- tj)]; and immigration rate = 200 (I)/[(S1 +S2) . (t2
the size of the specimens made collection impracticable - tt)]; where E is the number of species that wer^
(e.g. palm trees) photographs were used. This collection, presumed extinct, I is the number of species that
including photographs, is lodged with the Rottnest immigrated, (St + S2) is the sum of the number of species
Island Authority. A colour photocopy was taken of one recorded at the two censuses, and (t2 - tx) is the tims
pressed specimen (or photograph) for each species in the elapsed between the two censuses. For the purposes of
collection and these are held by the Rottnest Island this survey, we assumed that 42 years elapsed (tt = 1958
Authority for public reference. and t2= 2000).
We compiled a comprehensive list with current Some nomenclatural problems could not be resolved
nomenclature of all species recorded for Rottnest Island, with certainty and these are addressed under 'taxonomic
and attempted to reconcile it with all previous floristic issues' in Appendix 1.
lists. Our list included cultivated species that had become
naturalised. We use the term 'naturalised' in a broad
sense to include species in the colonisation phase that are Results
starting to multiply on Rottnest without human
A total of 196 vascular plant species was recorded for
intervention, and those in the naturalisation phase that
Rottnest Island between 1998 and 2001 (Table 1). The
have reproduced for several generations (Groves 1986).
majority, 113 (58% of the total), were native species and
Nomenclature was based on the WA Herbarium 83 (42%) were introduced. The total comprised the 184
identifications of the specimens collected in the recent species collected for the RRH, five species recorded by
suPP°rted bY det*ils in Paczkowska & Chapman other researchers since 1980 (Avellinia michelii, Cerastium
2000) or occasionally 'FloraBase' (Western Australian glomeratum, Droscra ramellosa, Oxalis pes-caprac and Ruppia
Herbarium, http://www.calm.wa.gov.au/science/ tuberosa), one seagrass (Heterozostera tasmanica) and six
Horabase html) and, in the case of some exotic taxa, by orchid species (Eriochilus dilatatus, Leporella fimbriata,
Bodkin (1993). Authors were not included but are Microtis media, Prasophyllum giganteum, Pterostylis aspera
available from the above references. Common names are and Pterostylis sanguined). Nine seagrass and eight orchid
taken from Paczkowska & Chapman (2000), and for species are known for Rottnest (D I Walker, School of
orchids from Hoffman & Brown (1992). A second list was Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, personal
compiled for deleted names, annotated with reasons for communication; A Brown, Science and Information
heir deletion from the Rottnest list or change in Branch, WA Dept of Conservation and Land
taxonomic status. Another list was compiled for species Management, personal communication); only eight
a had been cultivated outside gardens but had not seagrasses and two orchids were collected for the RRH.
become naturalised. These species are of historical and Seagrasses and orchids can be difficult to collect, and
aesthetic importance on the island, and some may were under-represented in both the RRH collection and
naturalise in the future.
Storr's (1962) census of Rottnest Island flora in the 1950s.
iqJiccooS^‘eS between ‘he two censuses (late The comparable total number of species on the island
1950s, and 1998-2001) was investigated. It is difficult tc in the late 1950s was 201 of which 124 (62%) were native
assess turnover, because of the problems of measuring species and 77 (38%) were introduced. This total
actual immigration and extinction rates, as noted b consisted of 180 species recorded by Storr (1962), and 7
rannnf L 69) ^ Abb0tt <1983)' beCau^ collection: other species lodged with the WA Herbarium at the time
cannot be considered complete. Nilsson & Nilsson (1985 of his survey (Bromus madritensis, a second Comesperma
census efficiency and turnover when recording species, Heliotropium curassavicum, Hydrocotyle
vascular plants on islands, and concluded that efficiency blepharocarpa, Polypogon tenellus, Sarcocornia blackiana and
correlates positively with the time spent in taking th,
Zygophyllum billardierei). Ricinus communis, Agave sisalana,
census, and negatively with island area. Ever
Droscra ramellosa and Lobelia alata, which were known to
8
Rippey, Hislop & Dodd: Vascular flora of Rottnest Island
Table 1
Native and introduced species, annual and perennial, recorded on Rottnest Island in the late 1950s and between 1998 and 2001.
Late 1950s1 1998-20012
Native Introduced Total Native Introduced Total
Annual 29 54 83 22 50 72
Perennial 89 18 107 83 30 113
Annual or Perennial 6 5 11 8 3 11
Total 124 77 201 113 83 196
1 Centaurium, Comesperma, Cotiostylis, Rhagodia and Senecio were counted as one species each.
2 Anagallis and Senecio for which two varieties or subspecies were collected were counted as one species each.
be present before and after Storr's (1962) census, were that have become extinct, was 246 (Anagallis, Eremophila,
assumed present, as were 4 orchid and 6 seagrass species Rhagodia and Senecio counting as one species each). One
that were not recorded in the 1950s. hundred and thirty-five were native species (55%) and
111 (45%) were introduced. These species are listed in
The cumulative total number of vascular plant
Appendix 2.
species recorded for Rottnest Island, including those
Table 2
Species that became extinct or immigrated between the two censuses. (We acknowledge that some species listed could have been
overlooked, misidentified or were dormant at the time of one or other census. Native species are perhaps less likely to have immigrated
than aliens, and annuals less likely to have become extinct than perennials. Geranium molle, for example, was rediscovered in 2002).
Extinctions
Exotics
Agave sisalana Diplotaxis muralis Orobanche minor
Arctolheca populifolia Ehrharta brevifolia Parentucellia latifolia
Brotnus madritensis Geranium molle Pennisetum clandestinum
Carduus pycnoceplmlus Juncus bufonius Reseda luteola
Centaurium pulchellum Leucojum aestivum Silene noctuma
Chenopodium murale Lolium rigidum Sisymbrium orientale
Crassula natans Malva parviflora Tetragonia decumbens
Desntazeria rigida Medicago polymorpha Trifolium suffocatum
Heliophila pusilla
Natives
Bulbine semibarbata Hemichroa pentandra Phyllangium paradoxum
Centrolepis polygyna Hydrilla verticillata Polypogon tenellus
Comesperma confer turn Juncus kraussii ssp australiensis Poranthera drummondii
Comesperma integerrimum Malva australiana Portulaca oleracea
Do4onea aptera Myosotis australis Trachymene pilosa
Heliotropium curassavicum Pelargonium littorale ssp littorale Wurmbea monantha
Zygophyllum billardierei
Immigrations
Exotics (including species that naturalised)
Agave attenuata Eragrostis curvula Moraea flaccida
Avellinia michelii Eucalyptus utilis Narcissus tazetta
Caesalpinia gilliesii Euphorbia paralias Nerium oleander
Callitriche stagnalis Ficus rubiginosa Oxalis pes-caprae
Casuarina glauca Hedypnois rhagadioloides Raphanus raphanistrum
Cerastium balearicum Iris sp. Rhamnus alatemus
Cirsium vulgare Lycopersicon esculentum Romulea rosea var australis
Crassula glomerata Malva dendromorpha Solanum nigrum
Crassula thunbergiana ssp thunbergiana Melia azedarach Vulpia fasciculata
Cymbalaria muralis Minuartia mediterranea Vulpia muralis
Natives
Angianthus preissianus Calandrinia aff eremaea Ruppia tuberosa
Anthocercis littorea Centaurium spicatum Schoenus nitens
Austrostipa elegantissima Lachnagrostis filiformis
9
Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 86(1), March 2003
Immigrations and extinctions Deleted species names are provided in Appendix 3.
Appendix 4 lists 35 exotic species cultivated outside
A few species had become extinct before the first flora
gardens, which have not become naturalised.
list was published (Storr 1962). Two species were recorded
by Preiss in 1839 but not since, Amyema melaleucae (see
Frewer et al. 1985) and Acacia truncata (WA Herbarium Discussion
specimen). Heliophila pusilla, Reseda alba and Waitzia nitida
The revision necessary to achieve our Rottnest flora
were only collected in about 1928, and Sorghum bicolor only
list involved the deletion of 122 species names, which are
in 1946-47 (WA Herbarium specimens).
given in Appendix 3 together with explanatory notes.
There was a comparatively rapid turnover of species Half of the discarded names reflected simple taxonomic
on the island between the late 1950s and late 1990s. Forty-
changes, with the older lists particularly requiring
four of the total 201 species (22%) known to have been updating. Some of the revisions were complicated by two
present in the late 1950s were not recorded at the end of
name changes. Others involved the splitting of one taxon
the century, while 38 additional species were found. The
into two; in cases where no material from Rottnest Island
82 species that either became extinct or immigrated are
had been preserved by earlier collectors it was not
listed in Table 2.
possible to determine which of the two new categories
The overall rate of turnover (immigrations plus had been recorded. A number of species listed by Storr
extinctions) was almost 2 species per annum over the 42 (1962) and others who drew on his work appeared to
years between the surveys, or 1% pa. Exotics had a have been misidentified. These were species that were
turnover rate twice that of native species (0.7% species pa not supported by herbarium specimens; where a species
compared with 0.3% pa). The number of extinctions and was not re-collected in the recent survey but a similar
immigrations was significantly higher for exotics than species was found, often in the location recorded
for native species (x,2= 4.06, P <0.05). previously, we assumed that the two species were the
same. Nomenclatural problems that could not be
Overall, there was a tendency for native species to
resolved are addressed in Appendix 1.
give way to exotics and for annuals to give way to
perennials. The proportion of native species dropped The total number of extant species recorded changed
from 62% to 58%, and the proportion of annuals dropped little between the late 1950s and the end of the century,
from 41% to 37%. The majority of native species recorded with 201 and 196 species respectively. The stability in the
were perennial (73%, or 83 in a total 113 native species in total number of species found on Rottnest Island over the
the recent survey) but only a minority of the introduced past half century supports MacArthur & Wilson's (1967)
species (36% or 30/83) were perennial. theory of island biogeography, which states that the
number of terrestrial species on islands tends to remain
The difference between the number of annuals that
in equilibrium, with immigrations balancing extinctions.
immigrated/became extinct compared with perennials
The total species number, according to their theory, U
was not statistically significant (x,2= 2.86, P > 0.05).
determined by the size of the island, the time since
Annuals had an extinction rate higher than the
isolation and the distance from the nearest landmass.
immigration rate (0.3% pa compared with 0.2% pa), while
Comparable flora studies (Table 3) carried out on sever\
perennials had a higher immigration than extinction rate
neighbouring, albeit much smaller islands, in the late
(again 0.3% pa compared with 0.2% pa).
1950s showed that total species number did reflect the
Argyranthemum frutescens (marguerite) was recorded area of each island, as predicted by MacArthur & Wilson
for the first time in 1986. This garden escape was (1967). However, by the late 1990s most of the smaller
eradicated at that time (Keighery 1986) and is a good islands had experienced drastic declines in biodiversity.
example of successful eradication following rapid This loss of species was associated with increasing
response to a naturalisation event. This species was the numbers of nesting seabirds and invasion by Malva
only recognised example of cryp’to-tumover in this study, dendromorpha and other coprophilid alien plant species
being present between the two censuses but not recorded (Rippey et al. 2002). These influences were very restricted
at either.
on Rottnest Island itself, but important on its satellite
Table 3
Number of plant species on islands off Perth in the late 1950s and the late 1990s (Garden Island is excluded from this comparison
ecause no recent figures are available). Isolation is distance to mainland or nearest island.
Area (ha) Isolation Species in Species in % change
(kilometres) late 1950s late 1990s
Rottnest Island 1900 17 201 196 -2
Carnac Island 16 8 82 a 62 b -24
Penguin Island 12 0.7 74 a 76 c +3
Seal Island 1.2 1 41a 17 c -59
Bird Island 0.9 0.3 31a 14 c -55
Dyer Island 0.6 1 18 a 17 -6
Shag Island 0.4 1.1 24 a 16 c -33
Green Island 0.1 0.1 18 a 14 -20
* fOF 1959 (Abbott 1977); b for 1995 (Abbott et al. 2000);c for 1998 (Rippey et al. 1998)
10
Rippey, Hislop & Dodd: Vascular flora of Rottnest Island
islets. Dyer and Green Islands. A criticism of the theory of palatable species, including the tree species (Pen &
of island biogeography (Sauer 1969) is the implication Green 1983).
that equilibrium in the total number of species represents Many of the plant extinctions on Rottnest Island may
stability and characterises the community structure of an have taken place shortly after Storr's (1962) census in the
island. On Rottnest Island, the equilibrium between aftermath of more recent fires and disturbance events.
immigrations and extinctions masked the dynamic nature Certainly 29 of the 44 species that became extinct were
of the flora and considerable change in terms of species known to have been rare in the late 1950s. Storr (1962)
composition. recorded 25 as such, mentioning that two of them
The vegetation of Rottnest Island contained a large (Dodonaea aptera and Portulaca oleracea) were known from
proportion of exotic species, comprising 42% or 83 of a only one specimen. A further 4 species were not recorded
total 196 species in 1998-2001. The comparable figure for by Storr (1962) at all, but were known to have been on
the Perth region was 27%, or 547 aliens in a total 2057 Rottnest Island from single WA Herbarium specimens
species (Marchant et al. 1987), and for Western Australia collected in the late 1950s (Bromus madritensis,
as a whole 11%, or 1052 in a total of 9640 (Paczkowska & Heliotropium curassavicum, Polypogon tenellus and
Chapman 2000). The turnover rate of 2 species per Zygophyllum billardicrei). Significantly the majority of the
annum (1.0% pa) between the two surveys was high, with species that became extinct were noted by Storr (1962) as
exotic species proving particularly mobile. being grazed or heavily grazed by quokkas.
Rottnest Island is fairly large (1900 ha) with varied Exotics made up an increasing proportion of the flora,
habitats, but its flora is depauperate compared with the and showed a particularly rapid turnover. These
adjacent mainland. A grassy Acanthocarpus heath of low introduced species were concentrated in the developed
diversity is now the most widespread of the vegetation areas, where they dominated the flora, but some were
communities on the island, a situation not recorded widespread across the island. The 35 exotic trees and
before the 1950s. The greatest changes to the island's flora shrubs listed in Appendix 4 include relics of nineteenth
probably took place over the first 100 years of human century market gardens and orchards, shading
settlement, when there was clearing, burning, tree ornamentals for the benefit of twentieth-century tourists,
cutting, and farming with the introduction of crop and reafforestation species. These are of historic and
species and their attendant weeds and grazing by farm landscaping or ornamental significance, as well as being
animals. The quokka population was suppressed by potential sources for future naturalisations. Nine of the
hunting. Storr's (1962) survey recorded the plant species species that had been cultivated on the island became
on the island after this time, when farming had ceased, naturalised between the late 1950s and 1998-2001;
the quokka population had recovered, and the island had specifically Agave attenuata, Caesalpinia gilliesii, Casuarina
roads and a reliable water supply. Major disturbance glauca, Eucalyptus utilis, Ficus rubiginosa, Iris sp, Melia
factors had been absent for a decade, with the notable azedarach, Narcissus tazetla and Nerium oleander. These are
exception of the widespread fire of 1955. included in the comprehensive list of Rottnest flora
(Appendix 2).
Very few of the species introduced with the farming
enterprises survived to the late 1950s. Storr (1962) A number of introduced species were considered a
recorded no agricultural annuals (their palatability and threat to the vegetation of the island and have been
lack of dormancy presumably ensured their early targeted for eradication, including Zantedeschia aethiopica,
demise) but the perennials Ricinus (Ferguson 1986) and Euphorbia paralias, Ricinus communis, Rhamnus alaternus
Agave (Keighery 1988) persisted, as well as some long- and Nicotiana glauca. Gomphocarpus fruticosus is a noxious
lived fruit trees planted beside Garden Lake. Agricultural weed that was eradicated from all but one site, where it
weeds presumably were abundant during farming was retained because it was the only food plant on the
operations, but few of these survived the harsh climate island for the Wanderer butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and
and quokka grazing. Some, such as Avena barbata, the native Lesser Wanderer (Danaus chrysippus) (Hay et
Arctotheca calendula and Centaurea melitensis, were al. undated).
recorded by Storr (1962), and were still present on the Some of the species that immigrated or became extinct
island in our survey but were rare. The tendency for merit comment. Pelargonium littorale ssp littorale was
annuals to give way to perennials is classic succession, 'widespread and abundant' in the 1950s according to
following disturbance. However the present low Storr (1962), although subject to heavy grazing. This was
prevalence of annuals may be due to their greater not collected in 1998-2001; possibly it had been eaten out
vulnerability to quokka grazing. by quokkas. Malva australiana, which was recorded by
The vegetation of Rottnest Island has not had the same Storr (1962) as common on the islets, could not be found,
intensity of disturbance since Storr's (1962) census but and has apparently been supplanted by the European
conditions have not returned to the pre-European tree mallow, Malva dcndromorpha. M. australiana is now
situation. First, there has been increasingly heavy traffic rare on the islands off Perth, persisting only on Carnac
between the island and the mainland, attendant upon (Abbott et al. 2000) and Middle Shag Islands (Rippey et al.
thousands of visitors each year (currently around 500 000 2002). M. australiana and M. dcndromorpha are palatable to
pa), which provided many opportunities for the quokkas and so do not occur on Rottnest itself, except for
introduction of new weed species. Secondly, wildfires a clump of M. dcndromorpha on the islet in Lake Baghdad.
that could revitalise the vegetation and temporarily M. dcndromorpha occasionally hybridises with M.
reduce grazing by quokkas, have been infrequent and australiana, an example of genetic pollution. The native
quickly controlled. Thirdly, the quokka population Hydrilla vcrticillata was collected in 1955 from a small pool
presumably has become so large that it dominates the on the south east edge of Government House Lake and
makeup of the flora, in effect preventing the regeneration was identified by Storr (1962) as Elodea canadensis, an
11
Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 86(1), March 2003
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The native Anthocercis littorea was recorded on
(undated). Bring back the butterflies. Western Australian
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seeds are hardcoated and can remain dormant until
Hesp P A, Wells M R, Ward B H R & Riches J R H 1983 Land
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(Powell & Emberson 1981; Haegi el al. 1982), yet this Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Perth.
very conspicuous perennial species was not recorded
Hodgkin E P & Sheard K 1959 Rottnest Island: the Rottnest
during the botanical surveys after the 1955 fire, which Biological Station and recent scientific research. Journal of
included the site of the present specimen (500 m west the Royal Society of Western Australia Volume 42(Part 3).
of Barker Swamp). Birds are probably not responsible Royal Society of Western Australia, Perth.
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dry and the seeds are small, making them more suited University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands.
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Huisman J M & Walker D I 1990 A catalogue of the marine
Sydney, personal communication). It is possible that plants of Rottnest Island, Western Australia, with notes on
the seeds of this species have remained viable in the their distribution and biogeography. Kingia 1:349-459.
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Keighery G J 1986 Garden Escapes on Rottnest Island - an
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Acknowledgements: This study is based on the Rottnest Island Herbarium and Land Management, Western Australia.
collected by members of the Rottnest Voluntary Guides Association and
Keighery G 1988 Garden escapes. Landscope 3:44-48.
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Guides. We are grateful to the Rottnest Island Authority for their support Keighery G J & Dodd J 1997 Occurrence and spread of Sea
and in particular to Claire Wright and Chas Hansen. The WA Herbarium Spurge (Euphorbia paralias) along the west coast of Western
made the project possible by providing facilities under their Community Australia, Nuytsia 11:285-286.
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Jersey.
References Marchant N G & Abbott I 1981 Historical and recent
observations of the flora of Garden Island, Western Australia.
Abbott I 1977 Species richness, turnover and equilibrium in Western Australian Herbarium Research Notes 5:49-62.
insular floras near Perth, Western Australia. Australian
Marchant N G, Wheeler J R, Rye B L, Bennett E M, Lander NS
Journal of Botany 25:193-208.
Macfarland T D 1987 Flora of the Perth Region. Western
Abbott I & Black R1980 Changes in species composition of floras Australian Herbarium, Perth.
on islets near Perth, Western Australia. Journal of
Biogeography 7:399-410. McArthur W M 1957 Plant ecology of the coastal islands neat'
Fremantle, WA. Journal of the Royal Society of. Western
Abbott I 1983 The meaning of 2 in species/area regressions and Australia 40:46-64.
the study of species turnover in island bioeeoeraphv. Oikos
41:385-390. & K 7 Nilsson IN & Nilsson S G 1985 Experimental estimates of census
efficiency and pseudotumover on islands: error trend and
Abbott I, Marchant N & Cranfield R 2000 Long-term change in between-observer variation when recording vascular plants.
the floristic composition and vegetation structure of Camac Journal of Ecology 73:65-70.
Island, Western Australia. Journal of Biogeography 27:333-
346. O'Connor D 1977 National Estate Survey of Rottnest Island.
Book 2. Advance Press, Perth.
Bodkin F 1993 Encyclopaedia Botanica. The Essential Reference
Guide to Native and Exotic Plants in Australia. Paczkowska G & Chapman A R 2000 The Western Australian
HarperCollins, Sydney. Flora. A Descriptive Catalogue. Wildflower Society of
Western Australia, Western Australian Herbarium and
Bradshaw S D 1983 Research on Rottnest Island. Journal of the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, Perth.
Royal Society of Western Australia Volume 66. Royal Society
of Western Australia, Perth. Pen L J & Green J W 1983 Botanical exploration and vegetation#!
changes on Rottnest Island. Journal of the Royal Society of
Cayzer L W, Crisp M D & Telford I R H 2000 Revision of
Western Australia 66:20-24.
Pittosporum (Pittosporaceae) in Australia. Australian
Systematic Botany 13:845-902. Rippey E, Rippey J J & Dunlop J N 2002 Increasing numbers Of
pied cormorants breeding on the islands off Perth, Western
Ferguson R J 1986 Rottnest Island History and Architecture.
Australia and consequences for the vegetation. Corella 26:61^-
University of Western Australia Press, Perth.
64.
Frewer P S, Hesp P S, Humphreys R B & Whitehouse S J O 1985
Rippey E, Rippey J, Dunlop N, Durant C, Green B & Lord J 1998
Rottnest Island Management Plan. Rottnest Island Board
Perth. The changing flora of the Shoalwater Bay Islands. Th^
Western Australian Naturalist 22:81-103.
12
Rippey, Hislop & Dodd: Vascular flora of Rottnest Island
Rippey E & Rowland B 1995 Plants of the Perth Coast and Storr G M, Green J W & Churchill D M 1959 The vegetation of
Islands. University of Western Australia Press, Perth. Rottnest Island. Journal of the Royal Society of Western
Australia 42:70-71.
Rippey E, Rippey J J & Dunlop N 2002 Management of
indigenous and alien Malvaceae on islands near Perth, Walker D I & Wells F 1996 Proceedings of the Ninth
Western Australia. In: Turning the tide: the eradication of International Marine Biological Workshop: Seagrass flora and
invasive species (eds C R Veitch & M N Clout). Invasive fauna of Rottnest Island. Western Australian Museum, Perth.
Species Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union, Wells F E, Walker D I, Kirkman H & Lethbridge R 1991
Auckland. Proceedings of the Fifth International Marine Biological
Sauer J D 1969 Oceanic island and biogeographic theory: a Workshop: the Marine Flora and Fauna of Rottnest Island,
review. The Geographic Review 59:582-593. Western Australia. Western Australian Museum, Perth.
Storr G M 1962 Annotated flora of Rottnest Island, Western Whittaker R J 1998 Island Biogeography, Ecology, Evolution and
Australia. The Western Australian Naturalist 8:109-124. Conservation. Oxford University Press, New York.
APPENDIX 1
TAXONOMIC ISSUES
1. Erythraea centaurium
E. centaurium as used by Storr and O'Connor was a misapplied name for Centaurium erythraea (Paczkowska &
Chapman, 2000)
C. erythraea has long been confused with C. tenuiflorum and C. pulchellum, both recorded for Rottnest Island.
Centaurium is a very difficult genus and differences between closely related species are often very slight, making
identification difficult.
2. Lepidospenna spp
The taxonomy of the genus Lepidosperma is particularly complex and the boundaries between related taxa are not
always clear. Such is the case between L. squamatum and L. pubisquameum. Only L. gladiatum and L. pubisquameum
are included in the definitive list (Appendix 2).
3 Didiscus pusillus was listed by Storr (1962). Marchant & Abbott (1981) mention that Trachymene pilosa was previously
known as Didiscus pilosus. In the absence of WA Herbarium vouchers, perhaps this could have been a pale
Trachymene coerulea. Plants with white flowers certainly occur, and can be stunted in marginal sites. However T.
pilosa certainly occurs on Garden Island, and could well have occurred on Rottnest Island. It is presumed extinct.
4. Names applied to samphires on Rottnest Island since 1962
Storr(1962) O'Connor (1977) Frewer (1985) Rottnest Regional
Herbarium
Arthrocnemum halocnemoides1 2 A. halocnemoides —(cid:9658) Halosarcia halocnemoides H. halocnemoides
Arthrocnemum arbusculai;i A. arbuscula W Halosarcia indica
Salicomia quinqueflora (cid:9658) Sarcocomia quinqueflora
Salicomia australis Salicomia quinqueflora ^
* Sarcocomia blackiana Sarcocomia blackiana
1 Storr's descriptions possibly transposed.
2 This is a synonym of Sclerostegia arbuscula which is only known from the south coast. Probably an incorrect identification of
Halosarcia indica.
13
Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 86(1), March 2003
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