Ancient Australians that need our help
Macadamias and Koalas diverged from most other flowering plants and mammals respectively over 100 million years ago.
Wild macadamias listed on the IUCN Red List
Three Macadamia species are now listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Macadamia integrifolia, native to south-east QLD, is listed as “vulnerable” while M. ternifolia, native to QLD, and M. tetraphylla, from northern NSW, are in the more threatened category of “endangered”. Global interest in the story has been sparked by a feature …
Wild Macadamia Hunt update
Cultivated macadamia trees have significantly less genetic diversity than wild trees. This means wild trees may have a greater capacity to respond to changing conditions, new diseases, human needs, and climatic change. Learning more about the genetic composition of wild macadamias gives us the chance to conserve and protect this important native species. There might …
Will wild populations of macadamia survive climate change?
Macadamias naturally occur in the subtropical rainforests of eastern Australia. These rainforests are predicted to undergo significant change in coming decades as a result of climate variation, particularly shifting temperature and rainfall patterns. The impact this will have on wild populations of macadamia is being studied by the Trust. Three years ago, former Macadamia Conservation …
Global interest in origins of commercial macadamias
Global interest in the wild relatives of commercial crops received a boost this week with the news that a majority of macadamia orchards throughout the world are derived from just a few wild trees. In a paper published in Frontiers in Plant Science (21 March 2019), a team led by Cathy Nock at Southern Cross …
The results of the IMS Awards are in!
MCT received the Outstanding Contribution Award and Ian McConachie received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 8th International Macadamia Symposium in Yunnan, China Ian McConachie presented a talk on wild macadamia conservation highlighting the value of wild macadamia genetics to the industry, the number of wild trees that have already been lost and the shared …
Continuing support for Macadamia conservation!
The Macadamia Processing Company, Pacific Gold Macadamias, and Macadamia Marketing International jointly donated $10,000 to MCT For the fourth year in a row, The Macadamia Processing Company, Pacific Gold Macadamias, and Macadamia Marketing International have jointly donated $10,000 to the Macadamia Conservation Trust. Such a generous donation shows their understanding of the intrinsic value of …
The Wild Macadamia Hunt is ON!
So much macadamia habitat has been cleared in and around Brisbane, and yet old trees survive in backyards, acreage blocks, farmland and creek and bushland reserves. Some of these trees may be the last individuals of lost populations. We are calling on Brisbane residents to help us find the old trees – can you think …
Hands on training grows wild Macadamia conservation
A recent meeting of minds at the Queensland Government’s Maroochy Research Facility has increased knowledge on best practice propagation of Macadamia. Representatives from six native plant nurseries from across south east Queensland attended a half-day workshop coordinated by the Macadamia Conservation Trust, Healthy Land and Water (HLW), the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and the …