Byron Flora and Fauna Study 1999 - Byron Shire Council

A GREENPRINT FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Brush Sauropus (Sauropus albiflorus subsp. microcladus FAMILY EUPHORBIACEAE)
Introduction. Brush Sauropus is a small shrub that grows in riparian rainforest. No Recovery Plan has been prepared.
Conservation status. Brush Sauropus is listed on Schedule 1 (Endangered) of the TSC Act, 1995.
Habit. A small shrub to 35cm high, dioecious, glabrous, leaves clustered on short branches. Leaves cuneate to obovate,
4-8 mm long, 2-5 mm wide, apex rounded to subacute; lower surface often glaucescent, midrib prominent; petiole to
1 mm long; stipules 1-2 mm long, brown (Harden 1990). Specimens from the Grafton population are reported to be
larger and may be a separate subspecies (M. Delany pers. comm.).
Flowers. Flowers axillary, mostly clustered. Perianth segments six, in two whorls, usually larger in female flowers, free or
fused below, often enlarging during fruit formation. Male flowers with perianth forming a tube, or frequently flattened,
entire or acutely 6-12-lobed; glands or disc absent; stamens three, free or fused into a short column. Male peduncles 5-
10 mm long, female peduncles usually to 15 mm long in fruit. Female flowers without a disc; ovules two in each loculus;
styles entire or bifid. Female perianth segments c. 2 mm long. Flowers summer (Harden 1990).
Fruit. Capsule globose, c. 3 mm long, smooth; seeds smooth.
Habitat. Found along creeks or rivers, in rainforest.
Distribution. Until recently Brush Sauropus was presumed to only occur in coastal areas north from Byron Shire. In
November 1997 Phil Austin recorded an isolated population of Brush Sauropus from a degraded rainforest remnant at
the Grafton Agricultural Research Station (H. Bower pers. comm.).
Regeneration and horticulture. There is no information available for this species.
Economic and cultural significance. Brush Sauropus has the aesthetic and ecological values of all native rainforest shrubs.
Abundance and reservation. Brush Sauropus is not known to exist in any public reserves. It has been recorded at Upper
Mullumbimby Creek in Byron Shire (Sheringham and Westaway 1995) but most records are for the Brunswick River
west of Mullumbimby (Raine and Golding 1994, B. O’Donovan pers comm). There are seven known records for this
species in Byron Shire. Up to 248 individuals have been recorded at the isolated population at Grafton (M. Delaney pers.
comm.).
Threats and amelioration. A major threat to Brush Sauropus is habitat clearing (most of the riparian and floodplain
rainforest in northern NSW has been cleared for agriculture). Other threats include fragmentation, vulnerability of
riparian vegetation to natural disturbance, weed invasion and grazing.
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