Fewer than 10 of these orchids remain in the wild. Victoria was about to burn them into extinction
by Petra Stock from on (#6RA72)
Critically endangered flowers get stay of execution after local environmental group threatens legal action against Victorian government
- Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
A critically endangered orchid has received a late reprieve after a local environmental group threatened legal action against the Victorian government, prompting officials to cancel a planned burn of its habitat.
The bald-tip beard orchid - a species with fewer than 10 plants remaining in the Australian wild - was thought extinct until rediscovered in 1968 at a site near Whroo, in central Victoria, where the last surviving wild population has persisted.
Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email
Continue reading...