Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search

Queensland and NSW floods 2022

Visit recovery.gov.au to see what help is available.

Close
Home

Top navigation main

  • News & media
  • Jobs
  • Ministers
  • Contact us
Main menu

AWE Main

  • Climate change
    Climate change Driving climate action, science and innovation so we are ready for the future.
    • Climate science and adaptation
    • Australia's climate change strategies
    • Emissions reduction
    • Emissions reporting
    • International commitments
    • Climate Active
    • Climate change publications and data
    • Australia’s National Greenhouse Accounts (Emissions Data)
    Stronger action on climate change

    Stronger action on climate change

    See how the Australian Government is committed to taking more ambitious action on climate change.

    Find out more

  • Energy
    Energy Building a secure and sustainable energy system for all Australians.
    • Energy policy in Australia
    • Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council
    • Renewable energy
    • Energy publications
    • energy.gov.au
    • Energy Rating
    • Commercial Building Disclosure Program
    • Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS)
    • Your Home
    • Reducing transport emissions
    Photo of commercial laundry focused on a washer and dryer

    Energy Ratings labels

    Helping consumers choose energy-efficient appliances

    Helping consumers choose energy-efficient appliances

  • Environment
    Environment Improving stewardship and sustainable management of Australia’s environment.
    • Bushfire recovery
    • Climate change and the environment
    • Biodiversity
    • EPBC Act
    • Environmental information and data
    • International activities
    • Invasive species
    • Land
    • Marine
    • Partnerships
    • Protection
    • Report a breach of environment law
    • Threatened species & ecological communities
    • Waste and recycling
    • Wildlife trade
    Decorative image

    Read our Nature Positive Plan

    Our plan sets out the Australian Government’s commitment to environmental law reform

    Find out more

  • Water
    Water Improving the sustainable management of Australia’s water supply for industry, the environment and communities.
    • Coal, Coal seam gas (CSG) and water
    • Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder
    • Water policy and resources
    • Wetlands
    Water matters

    Water Matters

    Keep up with the latest news on the department's work in managing Australia's water resources.

    Read the latest edition here

  • Parks and heritage
    Parks and heritage Managing Australia’s iconic national parks, historic places and living landscapes.
    • Australian Marine Parks
    • Australian National Botanic Gardens
    • Booderee National Park
    • Kakadu National Park
    • Christmas Island National Park
    • National parks
    • Norfolk Island National Park
    • Heritage
    • Pulu Keeling National Park
    • The Great Barrier Reef
    • Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
    The reef

    Great Barrier Reef

    Australia is protecting and conserving this World Heritage Area.

    Find out more

  • Science and research
    Science and research Undertaking research and collecting data to support informed decisions and policies.
    • Climate change
    • Australia's biological resources
    • National Environmental Science Program (NESP)
    • Office of the Science Convenor
    • Australian Biological Resource Study (ABRS)
    • State of the Environment (SoE) reporting
    • Bird and bat banding
    • Supervising Scientist
    Our climate is changing

    Our climate is changing

    Find out more about how climate science helps Australians with the impacts of climate change.

    Find out more

  • About us
    About us We lead Australia’s response to climate change and sustainable energy use, and protect our environment, heritage and water.
    • Accountability and reporting
    • Assistance, grants and tenders
    • Fees and charges
    • News and media
    • Our commitment to you
    • People and jobs
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    2023-24 May Budget

    2023-24 Budget

    The 2023-24 Budget has been delivered. Find out what's been announced.

    Find out what's been announced

  • Online services
    Online services We do business with you using online platforms. This makes it easier for you to meet your legal requirements.
Department of Climate Change, Energy, Enviroment and Water

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Environment
  3. Biodiversity
  4. Threatened species & ecological communities
  5. Threatened species and ecological communities publications
  6. Darwin palm Ptychosperma bleeseri

Sidebar first - EN - Biodiversity

  • Threatened species & ecological communities
    • Threatened Species Commissioner
      • Threatened Species Bake off
      • Contact us
    • The Threatened Species Action Plan 2022-2032
      • Saving Native Species
      • Priority Species
      • Development and consultation
      • Threatened Species Strategy 2015-2020
    • Threatened Species Recovery Fund
    • Threatened Species Scientific Committee
      • Committee members
    • Threatened species
      • Koalas
        • Saving Koalas Fund
        • Koala recovery projects
        • Science for koala recovery
        • National Koala Monitoring Program
        • National Koala Recovery Team
        • National environmental law
      • Monitoring Flying-Fox Populations
        • Hendra virus
        • National environmental law
        • Policy statement
    • Threatened ecological communities
      • About threatened ecological communities
      • New South Wales
      • Northern Territory
      • Queensland
      • South Australia
      • Tasmania
      • Victoria
      • Western Australia
    • Common Assessment Method
    • Nominations
      • Nomination forms and guidelines
      • Proposed priority assessment list
      • Comment on listing assessments
      • Extensions to timeframes
      • Ineligible species
      • Ineligible ecological communities
      • Ineligible key threatening processes
      • Disallowed Ecological Communities
      • Ecological Communities not prioritised for assessment
      • Key threatening processes not prioritised for assessment
      • Species not prioritised for assessment
    • Species Expert Assessment Plan
    • Listing assessments
      • Process and timeframes
      • Finalised priority assessment lists
    • Conservation advices
    • Recovery plans
      • Proposed changes to conservation planning decisions
      • Recovery plans made or adopted
      • Recovery plans open for public comment
    • Key threatening processes
    • Recovery teams
      • Monitoring and reporting
      • National register
    • Threat abatement plans
      • Approved Threat abatement plans
      • Drafts and reviews open for public comment
    • Threat abatement advices
      • Buffel grass
        • Threat abatement actions
        • Resources
      • Invasive pasture grasses
        • Annual mission grass
        • Gamba grass
        • Olive hymenachne
        • Para grass
        • Perennial mission grass
    • Listed species and ecological community permits
      • Notification of activities
      • Protected species permits
    • Threatened species and ecological communities publications

Darwin palm Ptychosperma bleeseri

Caution: archived content

This content may have been superseded, or served a particular purpose at a particular time. It may contain references to activities or policies that have no current application. Many archived documents may link to web pages that have moved or no longer exist, or may refer to other documents that are no longer available.

2003
Department of the Environment and Heritage

Threatened Species Day Fact Sheet

The Darwin Palm is a slender palm that grows up to 12 metres high. It has multiple green trunks that are only 3-6 centimetres wide and feathery fronds with leaflets that grow up to one and a half metres long. Flowering spikes are produced in the dry season, from April to August, with the main fruiting period between August and December.

The Darwin Palm is listed as endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. This Act is the main Commonwealth legislation for protecting the environment and conserving biodiversity.

What is its habitat?

The Darwin Palm is only found in eight small rainforest patches east of Darwin, within the Adelaide and Howard River system. It occurs over an area 30 kilometres long by 20 kilometres wide. Three of the eight rainforest patches occur within the Black Jungle Conservation Reserve, with the remainder occurring on freehold or pastoral lease land.

Why is it threatened?

Threats include invasion by weeds, habitat degradation by feral animals and changes in water quantity and quality as a result of changing land use in the catchment. Feral pigs also graze on the seedlings and prevent populations becoming established.

In some areas, urban development and horticulture are threatening the species. Intense fires also threaten regeneration as they kill adult plants. Frequent fires prevent seedlings and young palms from growing while also allowing weeds to become established.

What is being done to help?

A large number of volunteers have assisted the Northern Territory Government in conducting regular monitoring and erecting fences to exclude feral animals. New populations have been established at the Darwin Botanic Gardens and Territory Wildlife Park, and a recovery team has been established.

Through the Australian Government's Natural Heritage Trust, the Government is providing funding towards the development of a national recovery plan for the Darwin Palm.

Fire breaks and fuel reduction burning around Darwin Palm populations during the dry season help to protect these plants from intense fires. Cooperative programs with landholders also help to protect Darwin Palm habitats.

What can you do to help?

Here's how you can help the Darwin Palm and other threatened species:

  • join a local community group and undertake on-ground conservation work;
  • control weeds on your property or nearby native bushland;
  • get involved in regional planning to ensure that proposed developments do not impact on threatened species.

Celebrate water! Managing freshwater resources in the Northern Territory

The varying nature of the Top End, with its hot, arid dry season and flooding rains of the stormy wet season have produced a unique Australian landscape containing a diverse array of plants and animals. About 98 per cent of rainfall occurs in the wet season between October and April.

The quality of surface water in many parts of the Northern Territory has been affected by horticultural and urban developments. The flow of water during the wet season can cause erosion of cleared land, and large volumes of soil and debris are washed into rivers, which causes sedimentation. Stormwater runoff can also introduce fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides into the local waterways.

Rainforest patches that contain the endangered Darwin Palm, are threatened by fluctuations in the underground water flow. These unique patches of rainforest are kept moist throughout the dry season by underground springs.

Increasingly, ground water is being used for irrigation and to supply drinking water. The extraction of water is affecting the flow of water to the springs, but the impact that this will have on the rainforest patches is not yet clearly understood.

A program has been established to monitor groundwater levels. This information will be used by governments, conservationists and industry to help manage groundwater in an ecologically and economically sustainable way.

For more information about helping threatened species in the Northern Savannah region, contact the Threatened Species Network Coordinator:

Telephone: (08) 8941 7554
E-mail: savannas@wwf.org.au
Web: www.wwf.org.au/

You can also find out more information about Australia's threatened species by calling the Department of the Environment and Heritage Community Information Unit on free call 1800 803 772 or by visiting www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened

Thanks for your feedback.
Thanks! Your feedback has been submitted.

We aren't able to respond to your individual comments or questions.
To contact us directly phone us or submit an online inquiry

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Please verify that you are not a robot.

Skip

Footer

  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • FOI
Last updated: 03 October 2021

© Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.