What’s in a name? Quite a lot, we’d argue! Right now, Saving our Species needs your help to play the ‘name game’ and suggest catchy new names for some of NSW’s lesser-known threatened species.
173 of our most beautiful and unique native species are known only by their scientific names, which are hard to pronounce and even trickier to remember.
That’s why we want you to suggest catchy names for 8 unnamed, but not unloved, threatened species found in NSW, from orchids to wattle.
Whether the name means something to your community or your culture, suits the look of the species or just makes you laugh, we want to hear from you. We’d especially love to hear name suggestions that recognise the living history of our Indigenous people and their connection to the land on which these threatened species are found.
Your entries will be judged by a panel of threatened species experts from Saving our Species.
Winners will be announced on Threatened Species Day, 7 September 2020 and will be featured on social media throughout September.
The 8 plant species in the spotlight are:
- Nitella partita – algae found in north west NSW
- Acacia meiantha – wattle found in NSW central tablelands
- Acacia baueri subsp. Aspera – wattle found in the Blue Mountains
- Pterostylis ventricosa – orchid found in the Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands
- Diuris bracteata – orchid found around Sydney
- Pterostylis riparia – orchid found in Barrington Tops
- Zieria odorifera ssp. Copelandii – shrub found in Mount Kaputar National Park
- Phebalium bifidum – shrub found in Capertee Valley
Invite your friends and family to help rename our threatened plants by sharing the survey link on social media using #SavingourSpecies.
