Abutilon julianae is a small
shrubA shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
of the genus
AbutilonAbutilon is a large genus of approximately 150 species of broadleaf evergreens in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus includes annuals, perennials, shrubs, and small trees from 1-10 m tall, and is found in the tropical and subtropical regions of all continents. The leaves are alternate,...
believed endemic to
Norfolk IslandNorfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. It and two neighbouring islands form one of Australia's external territories....
, where it was last seen about 1910. For more than seventy years it was considered extinct, apparently killed out by grazing stock.
In the mid 1980s control of
feralA feral organism is one that has escaped from domestication and returned, partly or wholly, to a wild state. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, can disrupt ecosystems and may, in some cases, contribute to extinction of indigenous...
rabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit , Cottontail rabbit , and the Amami rabbit...
s on nearby
Phillip IslandPhillip Island is an uninhabited island located 6 km south of Norfolk Island in the Southwest Pacific, and part of the Norfolk Island group. It was named in 1788 by Lieutenant Philip Gidley King for Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales. It is part of the Australian territory...
allowed plant seedlings to survive in accessible areas for the first time in more than one hundred years, and some seedlings of
Abutilon julianae were discovered.
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Abutilon julianae is a small
shrubA shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
of the genus
AbutilonAbutilon is a large genus of approximately 150 species of broadleaf evergreens in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus includes annuals, perennials, shrubs, and small trees from 1-10 m tall, and is found in the tropical and subtropical regions of all continents. The leaves are alternate,...
believed endemic to
Norfolk IslandNorfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. It and two neighbouring islands form one of Australia's external territories....
, where it was last seen about 1910. For more than seventy years it was considered extinct, apparently killed out by grazing stock.
In the mid 1980s control of
feralA feral organism is one that has escaped from domestication and returned, partly or wholly, to a wild state. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, can disrupt ecosystems and may, in some cases, contribute to extinction of indigenous...
rabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit , Cottontail rabbit , and the Amami rabbit...
s on nearby
Phillip IslandPhillip Island is an uninhabited island located 6 km south of Norfolk Island in the Southwest Pacific, and part of the Norfolk Island group. It was named in 1788 by Lieutenant Philip Gidley King for Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales. It is part of the Australian territory...
allowed plant seedlings to survive in accessible areas for the first time in more than one hundred years, and some seedlings of
Abutilon julianae were discovered. As the species had never been recorded on Phillip Island this was one of the first unexpected bonus benefits of rabbit control (and subsequent eradication). Plants must have survived in the few cliff-bound places inaccessible to both rabbits and people to provide the source of seed for the newly-discovered plants. The species is now widely grown on Norfolk Island and natural regeneration on Phillip Island is growing well, though still very rare. It is listed as Critically Endangered under
Australia'sAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation ActThe Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and culturally significant places...
.