Schoenia filifolia subsp. subulifolia (the Mingenew Everlasting) is listed as Endangered under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and as Declared Rare Flora under the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950. The main threats are competition from annual weeds, salinity, degraded habitat, grazing and disturbance from feral animals.
The Mingenew Everlasting is an annual herb to 0.5 m high with long, thin leaves and yellow everlasting daisy flowers. The flowering period is from September to October. This daisy grows in pale yellow-grey-brown clay in swampy flats, crabholes and tops of breakaways. Associated species include Hakea preissii, Eucalyptus loxophleba and Acacia acuminata.
The species is endemic to Western Australia where it is currently known from three subpopulations in the Mingenew area approximately 110 km south-east of Geraldton. All three subpopulations occur on private land. Old records also show it as having once occurred at Walkaway and Champion Bay near Geraldton, Western Australia.
It is quite likely that other small subpopulations exist in isolated patches of remnant vegetation on private properties. It was suggested that because the known subpopulations are restricted to swampy areas unsuitable for cropping, few patches of suitable habitat might still exist in an area that has been extensively cleared.
For more information about this plant, or if you have seen it, please contact the Department of Parks and Wildlife’s Geraldton District Office on 9964 0901.
Information Source: Government of Australia, Department of Environment and Department of Parks and Wildlife Western Australia
