Included among specimens of native flora collected by Ipswich resident Ron Liebram in 1976 for identification at the Queensland Herbarium, was material gathered from an attractive bushy shrub found growing amidst sandstone boulders in close proximity to the present day Cunningham Hwy. The collection site was once known as the "Cooneana Paddock", a reference to the nearby historic Cooneana homestead, and now the home of the Ipswich Historical Society.

A subsequent letter from the Queensland Herbarium detailing identification and information on the specimens previously submitted noted that one, a native olive (Notelaea species), had a number of unusual characteristics. A collection of additional fertile material was requested for further studies.

On returning to the Cooneana Paddock collection site a few months later, a scene of utter devastation greeted the eyes of the plant enthusiasts. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of overburden from an adjacent open cut coal mine blanketed the area. A systematic search of remnant bushland nearby failed to reveal any additional plants of the Notelaea species.

A number of years later, a researcher from the Queensland University studying the naturalisation of Cadagi (Corymbia torelliana) in southeast Queensland approached the author for assistance in locating these feral trees in the Ipswich area. After a day spent in the field, the final destination was a pocket of degraded bushland fringing the Cunningham Hwy south of Dinmore. A few metres away from the busy highway, at the base of a huge mountain of overburden dumped during open cut coal mining operations, a single plant of the new Notelaea species was located. Elated by the discovery, it was decided to investigate a fringing strip of Eucalypt woodland nearby - a decision which led to the discovery of a small population of the new Notelaea species and also two other important plants: Notelaea lloydii and Marsdenia coronata - both endangered. An exhaustive search by members of the Society for Growing Australian Plants, Ipswich Branch, eventually located two more small populations, all within a kilometre radius of the original collection site.

An attractive understory shrub averaging two metres tall in the wild, the new Notelaea thrives on the shallow infertile soils often associated with the Ipswich Coal Measures. Occasionally multi-stemmed, the shrub tolerates droughts and periodic fires. Currently the recorded population numbers sixteen plants, all recorded from the Bundamba-Ebbw Vale-Dinmore areas.

Studied by senior botanist Wayne Harris, curator of the Oleaceae family at the Queensland Herbarium, the new native olive has been confirmed as a new species, and will be named Notelaea ipsviciensis after Ipswich City where it is endemic, when officially described in the scientific journal "Austrobaileya" in the 2004 edition. Type material for the study was collected from a specimen growing on a road easement adjacent to the Cunningham Hwy, south of Dinmore, Ipswich. The Main Roads Department has erected signage at the site to indicate the presence of this rare species and signify the ecological importance of this wooded remnant.

Five specimens of the new Notelaea are also present on neighbouring land owned by Claypave, the local paving block manufacturer. Financial support from this public-spirited company aided Greening Australia in a concerted effort to remove surplus Acacia species at the roadside Notelaea ipsviciensis site in order to prevent excessive shade from reducing the chances of survival of the small population.

Powerlink Queensland, prior to the construction of major powerlines in the Bundamba-Dinmore area, commissioned a survey of their easement to record any endangered plant species that may have been present. During an extended survey in the field of the proposed route, three Notelaea ipsviciensis and a single Notelaea lloydii were located. Using the GPS system, these rare species' were accurately mapped to aid in their conservation when land clearing commenced along the powerline easement.

The odds against long term survival of the Notelaea species are immense. The three small fragmented populations located amidst abandoned open cut coal mines, garbage dumps and clay pits, appear to have a bleak future. Weed invasion, increasing wildfires and the possibility of future roadworks nearby could also contribute to the demise of these rare species.

It is essential that a recovery plan be formulated and implemented without delay. Erratic flowering and fruiting appears to be a characteristic of Notelaea ipsviciensis. Propagation by tissue culture or cuttings may be worthy of consideration to aid in its conservation. As one of the rarer native plants of Queensland, Ipswich can take pride in it's namesake and should promote this unique species.

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NOTE: This species is currently known as Notelaea sp. Bundamba. It is similar to another species in the area, Notelaea lloydii (named after Lloyd Bird). Distinguishing features are:

Notelaea ipsviciensis (sp. Bundamba) - shrub less than 3 metres tall. Leaves 3-8cm long and 5-18mm wide, with prominent raised venation on upper leaf - secondary veins 90º from midvein.

Notelaea lloydii - a shrub to small tree, often 3-4 metres tall. Leaves narrower, 5-15cm long and 2-7mm wide, with less distinct venation and not obviously raised above. Secondary venation less than 90º to the midvein.

This species will feature in the new volume 2 of "Mangroves to Mountains - A Field Guide to the Plants of S.E. Qld. and N.E. NSW" by the Logan River Branch of the SGAP.

Notelaea ipsviciensis Photographs provided by Glenn Leiper.