Tropical Mountain Plant Science Project

About the Project

The Jurassic Garden at the Inala Nature Reserve has joined a collaborative project to establish ex situ collections of Far North Queensland cloud/montane forest plants including Gondwanan species of flowering plants, conifers, ferns, mosses and other non-flowering taxa.

"The Tropical Mountaintop Plant Science Project (TroMPS) aims to collect, store and propagate genetically diverse ex situ collections of tropical montane cloud forests (TMCFs) plants and seeds, and research the potential for these plants to survive and/or adapt to predicted climate changes."

This is a joint project established by the Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra (ANBG), Australian Rhododendron Society (Victorian branch), Cairns Botanic Gardens, Mossman Botanic Gardens, Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney (RBGS), Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (RBGV) and the Wet Tropics Management Authority, Qld to collect plants from the peaks of mountains in far north Queensland, particularly Mount Bartle Frere, Mount Bellenden Kerr and Mount Lewis. These peaks are vulnerable to the effects of climate change and need urgent ex situ (off site) conservation action to safeguard native plants that call these mountains home.

The locality of the Inala Jurassic Garden at higher latitude provides a suitable alternative to the altitudinal habitats of many of these montane species, and we are already successfully growing some of these species in the garden

Updates

March 2024
Here is a list of the TroMPs plants that are currently being nurtured by our fabulous propagator Jonno: Eucryphia wilkiei; Podocarpus grayae , Dianella bambusifolia , Hydrocotyle miranda , Polyscias willmottii, Acrotriche baileyana, Rhododendron virosum, Cryptocarya bellendenkeriana & Tasmannia sp.
November 2023

Inala Jurassic Garden received cuttings of 10 species of TroMPs plants. We have begun the process of propagating and caring for each species and we are monitoring progress closely.

September 2023

We have now sent through a request for TroMPs plant species that are likely to suit the climatic conditions at Inala Jurassic Garden. We anticipate that the plants will arrive before the end of 2023.

July 2023

Inala Jurassic Garden has been in contact with RBGV (Cranbourne) in relation to receiving plant material for this project. At Cranbourne, the TROMPS display was planted out late in 2021 and is now heading into its second winter. So far, they have had a good success rate in a fairly open part of the garden that receives generous amounts of summer irrigation. There is enough propagation material from certain species to now be offering it out to other gardens.

Find out more about the Tropical Mountain Plant Science Project

Tropical Mountain Plant Science
Mission to save threatened plant species, ABC News
Mountain rescue, James Cook University
Gondwana, Wet Tropics Management Authority
The Council of Heads of Australian Botanic Gardens
Managing a World Heritage Site in the Face of Climate Change: A Case Study of the Wet Tropics in Northern Queensland: Ellen T. Weber 1 , Carla P. Catterall 2 , John Locke 3,4,5, Liz S. Ota 6 , Bruce Prideaux 7 , Leslie Shirreffs 1,8 , Leah Talbot 9 and Iain J. Gordon

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Inala Nature acknowledge and pay respects to the palawa people as the traditional and original owners, and continuing custodians of this land, lutruwita, and acknowledges Elders - past and present. Inala Nature Tours and the Inala Foundation Inc are located on lunawanna- alonnah, also known as Bruny Island, the traditional land of the Nuenonne people.