Springbrook Rescue

Endemic plants and animals

A number of plants and animals that occur in the rainforests of Springbrook have a very restricted distribution, largely confined
to the Mt Warning shield volcano remnants including Springbrook. Their conservation is of paramount importance.

Eucryphia jinksii (Cunoniaceae) Springbrook Pinkwood Endangered. This very rare tree occurs at just a few locations in rainforest at Springbrook and over the border in Numinbah Nature Reserve. It was discovered in 1994 by Springbrook botanist, David Jinks. The genus Eucryphia occurs only in Australia and Chile, illustrating its ancient Gondwanan origins. There are just four other species in Australia, one in Tasmania, two in south-eastern New South Wales and Victoria, and one in the Wet Tropics.	© Lui Weber
Symplocos baeuerlenii (Symplocaceae) Small-leaved Hazelwood Vulnerable. This small tree or shrub occurs only at higher altitudes on remnants of the Mt Warning shield volcano. From our experience, wherever you find this plant, you will almost invariably find Triunia youngiana, Psychotria simmondsiana and Ardisia bakeri.	Photo: © Glenn Leiper
Ardisia bakeri (Myrsinaceae) Ardisia Classified as ‘near threatened’. Found only on the Mt Warning shield volcano remnants, A. bakeri is a shrub to small tree with zig-zag branches bearing red fruits. It is found in higher parts of Springbrook and at the sites where it does occur it can be quite common. Early records include rainforest gullies in the Tweed Valley but it now appears to be largely restricted to Springbrook Plateau.	© Lui Weber
Correa lawrenceana var. glandulifera (Rutaceae) Mountain Correa Mountain Correa is a tree to about 6 metres growing in rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest. In New South Wales, it occurs from the Border Ranges to Dorrigo but in Queensland it is recorded only from Springbrook. It was rediscovered at Springbrook in 2008, the first record since 1978.	Photo: M. Fagg © Australian National Botanical Gardens
Ochrosia moorei (Apocynaceae) Ochrosia Endangered. Ochrosia moorei is a highly restricted plant occurring on the north-eastern section of the Mt Warning shield volcano remnants.	Photo: © Glenn Leiper
Carronia multisepalea (Menispermaceae) Carronia This uncommon woody climber is largely restricted to the remnants of the Mt Warning shield volcano with disjunct populations in the Blackall Range and Bellthorpe. There are just three other species in the genus Carronia, two in the Wet Tropics of Queensland and one in New Guinea, indicating a formerly much wider occurrence when rainforests were widespread in Australia. Around the world, moths belonging to the subfamily Catocalinae feed on members of the Menispermaceae. Carronia multisepalea is the host plant for caterpillars of the endangered southern subspecies of the Pink Underwing Moth (Phyllodes imperialis). The northern subspecies in the Wet Tropics feeds on another member of the Menispermaceae, Pycnarrhena novoguineensis.	© Lui Weber
Cryptocarya meisneriana (Lauraceae) This species is essentially restricted to the Tweed caldera in Queensland and extends further south in New South Wales to Barrington Tops.	Photo: Peter Woodard
Meiogyne stenopetala (Annonaceae) This species is essentially restricted to the remnants of the Mt Warning shield volcano. The Annonaceae (custard apples, soursops) has a basal position in the evolution of flowering plants.	Photo: Ollernshaw © Australian National Botanical Gardens
Masked Mountain Frog Kyarranus loveridgei Classified as ‘near threatened’. This small frog is found only in the McPherson Range–Border Ranges area. It lays its eggs in a non-foamy jelly mass at the bottom of a flask-shaped depression in moist soil. Embryos in the bottom of the jelly mass fail to hatch because of low Oxygen levels. The single-note call of the males, ‘wok’, can be heard day and night in the higher altitude parts of Springbrook during Spring.	Photo: Keith Scott & Aila Keto