11/05/2026
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED RAINFOREST TREE SPOTTED
A CMN member recently went searching on the edge of the Howe Range, Croajingolong National Park for one of the rarest trees in Victoria: Polyscias murrayi or Pencil Cedar, also known colloquially as the Umbrella Tree.
Classed as Critically Endangered in Vic, the Pencil Cedar is a member of the Araliaceae family, which surprisingly also includes Hydrocotyles as well as English Ivy. It’s described as being a sparingly-branched tree to 24 m / 78 ft high, with once-pinnate leaves on upswept-looking branches giving it an unusual appearance, hence the “Umbrella Tree” nickname.
While the tree is found in NSW and Qld, it’s considered exceedingly rare in Victoria being confined to the extreme east, and growing on the margins of warm-temperate rainforest with a small, core population in the catchment of Harrisons Creek. The next known population is around 50kms north near Eden in NSW. A survey carried out for the National Trust’s Trees of Significance in 1998 detected 13 trees, and a DELWP Threatened Species Assessment from 2021 gives an estimated mature, core population of 11 to 13 individuals with a few outliers (and a gloomy forecast for the trees’ continuing presence in Vic). However, the nature of the terrain – very dense rainforest in steep terrain that is difficult to access – makes it inherently tricky to search for and locate.
The searching CMN member “enjoyed” an aerobic workout through the jungle with plenty of leeches and numerous pratfalls before bumping into one specimen above the dense canopy of Dicksonia antartica / Soft Tree-fern, Cyathea leichhardtiana / Prickly Tree-fern and Eucrypthia moorei / Eastern Leatherwood. Getting a clear view beyond the dark, thick canopy was as challenging as getting in and out of the area, but a total of 4 individuals were seen eventually, all perched slightly above the rainforest core along the creek line. The terrain and the tree’s growth habit definitely suggests trialling a drone to confirm the population size, which is already a conversation with Facilitator and licenced drone pilot, Tom here at the CMN.
As the tree is reputed to be disturbance-mediated and is estimated to live up to 100 years, it does raise the interesting question of what took place in that specific area around a century ago that enabled the Umbrella Tree to become established (and I’m assuming that as it has a berry then the flying foxes are likely to have brought it in). One thing’s for sure; there was no sign of any juveniles or evidence of the next generation coming through in the area searched, which doesn’t bode well. There was, however, a bonus sighting of the Critically Endangered fern, Lastreopsis decomposita or Trim Shield-fern (see photos), which was also a first for the author.
