Samadera bidwillii

Aim: Conservation Genomics
Project initiation: Aug 2020
Project lead: Laura Simmons | Queensland Herbarium, Department of Environment and Science

Project description:

The genus Samadera (syn. Quassia) within Australia consists of 2 described species, Samadera baileyana Oliv. and S. bidwillii Hook.f.; and nine taxa with phrase names: S. sp. (Barong B.Gray 742), S. sp. (Dam Creek T.S.Ryan 1006), S. sp. (Kennedy River J.R.Clarkson 5645), S. sp. (Mary River I.D. Cowie 1459), S. sp. (Moonee Ck J. King s.n. Nov. 1949), S. sp. (Mt Goonaneman J.Randall 738), S. sp. (Mt Nardi B.L.Walker AQ330746), S. sp. (St Mary P.Grimshaw+ PG2159) and S. sp. (Tozer Range L.J.Brass 19393). All occur in Queensland with the exception of S. sp. (Mary River I.D. Cowie 1459) from the Northern Territory and S. sp. (Moonee Ck J. King s.n. Nov. 1949) from New South Wales. Samadera baileyana and S. sp. (Barong B.Gray 742) are morphologically similar; with the nine remaining taxa forming a species complex with S. bidwillii (see table Section 5).

Within the S. bidwillii complex, three taxa are listed under state legislation and a number of the undescribed species in the S. bidwillii complex are likely to be eligible for threatened species listing under Criteria B, C, and/or D of the IUCN (2014) based on the highly restricted extent of occurrence (EOO) and/or small areas of occupancy (AOO) and threats. This study aims to: (1) resolve variants within the S. bidwillii complex including the phrase name taxa; and (2) contribute to the understanding of the Australian Samadera. If the undescribed species and morphological variants within the complexare distinct, these taxa can then be evaluated for conservation listing using the Common Assessment Method (CAM).