Planting our critically endangered Coastal Fontainea

Cages protect Coastal Fontainea along Lennox Point

Critically endangered Coastal Fontainea

Did anyone catch us planting our critically endangered Coastal Fontaineas this month?  If you’d been walking passed us at the time - you might have sensed the huge vibe of excitement amongst us? 

If you’re a regular walker of the Lennox Point Track, you really can’t miss the huge cages that are protecting our critically endangered Coastal Fontaineas.  They’re alongside the track, just near where it intersects with the surfer’s stairs.  We planted ten young Coastal Fontaineas here, each a replica of the 10 remaining adult species left in Lennox.  They’ve been grown from cuttings, as part of a government recovery project and are now around 4 years old. 

You’re invited to go and visit these youngsters of our almost extinct species.  Get to know them.  See if you can spot the 3 female plants amongst the 7 males.  Watch them over the years to see if they perform their own sex change, which is apparently possible.  Right now there’s one with little fruits on it - maybe you’ll notice some new babies popping up in the future.  

We’ll certainly find it interesting to watch the progress of these critically endangered plants, but excitingly, it’s just one of many Coastal Fontainea plantings to come.  This is because Council have got their hands on some pretty good grant money to restore not only Coastal Fontaineas, but large sections of natural vegetation on Lennox Headland. 

Article published in Lennox Wave June 2014