Cheirostylis notialis

Orchids are highly susceptible to disturbance. Loss of habitat for development, agriculture, livestock, logging, urbanization, roadworks and through tourism, are constant threats, with suitable habitat being cleared and fragmented. The quality of small blocks of remnant vegetation may continue to deteriorate where threats are not controlled. Other significant threats to this species include fire and possible suppression by understorey invasive weeds. Coastal development in New South Wales has greatly intensified over the last 20 years, and nearly the entire coastline is inhabited. Coastal development in southeastern Queensland has continued at a similar pace, with all coastal lowland vegetation affected by rapid urban expansion. Even within protected areas, there are a number of threats to native flora and fauna, including trampling by tourists, altered fire regimes, problems of sewage disposal, and the continued spread of weeds (Hogan and McGinley 2012). This is a highly specialized plant that requires this coastal forest which is under anthropogenic pressure even within protected areas. It is also a species which could be subject to predation by invertebrates such as snails or even mammals such as foraging pigs (M. Clements pers. comm. 2014). Such threats have the potential to reduce populations rapidly.

This orchid has been collected within protected areas such as the Iluka Nature Reserve. This species may have some capacity to persist in disturbed areas, it has been recorded occurring under a 2 m wide strip of roadside privet in an area which would have formerly been rainforest and also in remnant riparian rainforest (specimen data). This orchid was listed as Data Deficient in Queensland and is now listed as Least Concern (Environmental Protection Agency Queensland. 1999, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Queensland 2014). As with all orchids, the taxon should not be removed from the wild. Field Surveys are needed in historical sites of collection and potentially suitable areas to determine the current range and population size of this species in order to clarify its present conservation status. Ideally seeds should be collected and stored as part of ex situ conservation measures but the very short viability period may mean this is not possible for this species (M. Clements pers. comm. 2014).