National recovery plan for the Southern Shepherd's Purse (Ballantinia antipoda)

Summary

The Southern Shepherd’s Purse Ballantinia antipoda is a small annual herb endemic to Victoria and Tasmania. The species has disappeared from almost all sites from which it was known, and currently exists only at a single location at Mount Alexander in central Victoria.

It is listed as 'Endangered' under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, 'Threatened' under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, and 'Presumed Extinct' under the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995. Major threats include weed invasion, disturbance by people and animals, and climate change.

This national Recovery Plan for Southern Shepherd’s Purse is a revision of the first Recovery Plan for the species (Alexander 1999), and details the species’ distribution and biology, conservation status, threats, and recovery objectives and actions necessary to ensure its long-term survival.