Key stats: 

• Status: Critically Endangered.
• Approximately 70 plants are held in ex-situ collections at Wollongong Botanic Garden for ongoing research, and as a safeguard for the wild population in future re-plantings.

Only discovered in 2008, then described and published as a new species in 2014, this is probably the rarest Banksia in Australia. It is listed as Critically Endangered. It is endemic to NSW (only found growing here and nowhere else in the world).

Banksia vincentia is found growing in low sedgeland and grassy heath in sandy soils over clay on sandstone. Originally a population of only 14 plants were discovered, but today only four individual plants survive in the wild; the others have been lost to bushfires and extended periods of inundation. Luckily some of these individuals are represented in the ex-situ holdings of this species.

This species may be able to survive infrequent low intensity burns, re-sprouting from an underground lignotuber. However if the fires are too intense or too frequent, the adult plant will be killed. Its survival strategy in this case is to release seeds from the fruiting cones after fire, starting a new population.

At Wollongong Botanic Garden we have been working closely with Booderee Botanic Garden (as the lead partner) and Australian National Botanic Garden (Canberra) to propagate this species. We have collaborated on how best to propagate this species by cuttings and our ex-situ collections have been used to support genetic research into this species. We have also collaborated with the Office of Environment and Heritage / Department of Planning Industry and Environment with research surrounding pollination of this species to try and increase the yield of seed from wild and cultivated specimens.

With fires and inundation both possible in the wild population, having an ex-situ collection and seeds banked all help safeguard this species into the future.