Project funded via the Global Botanic Garden Fund.

Project completed: 2021

Dactylanthus taylorii is New Zealand’s only holoparasitic flowering plant, and as is the case with its pollinator, is endemic to New Zealand.

Habitat destruction and impact from introduced pest species have restricted the endangered plant to <5% of its former range. As put by Wellington City Council conservation adviser Karin van der Walt;

“It’s really a small area so all we need is an earthquake or something to split that, disease, or somebody not knowing and we will lose the species.”

Ex situ collections can play a critical role in combating extinction. One project assisted by BGCI’s Global Botanic Garden Fund used seed banking to establish a genetically diverse ex situ collection, as well as living collections for research, seed production, and reintroduction of D. taylorii.

The project not only resulted in living collections being reintroduced into Wellington (Otari Native Botanic Garden and Zealandia Ecosanctuary), but also established a solid foundation for plant conservation in New Zealand as the first reintroduction effort combining western science with traditional cultural knowledge systems (mātauranga Māori).

The trip to collect D. taylorii seed was the first time that representatives from all six iwi in the Wellington Region, three independent conservation organisations, and private conservationists collaborated to collect and sow seeds.

We’re incredibly proud to have played a role in a great example of conservation that involves local communities, botanic gardens, and researchers working together whilst safeguarding a species for the future.