(adapted from the Project Platypus Newsletter)
Project Platypus is working closely with Halls Gap and surrounding communities to control the spread of Kunzea leptospermoides (Yarra Burgan) and the threat it imposes on the Grampians National Park and surrounding reserves.
Yarra burgan (Kunzea leptospermoides, previously K. ericoides) is a tall (2-5 [<15]m) native shrub originating from eastern Victoria and the NSW coastal hinterland. It is not indigenous to Halls Gap or the Grampians National Park. Yarra Burgan was introduced to the region as an ornamental garden plant and has since spread forming dense thickets which are a biodiversity threat and fire hazard.
Yarra burgan was initially thought to be a similar species, Kunzea ericoides, from New Zealand, but studies revealed it as an Australian native. It is a highly successful species in part due to changes in climate and hybridization. Yarra burgan looks very similar to the … Read the rest