00:02At a nursery near Hobart, an ancient and rare plant is being propagated.
00:08It's found nowhere else in the world, can't produce any seed, it's difficult to replicate in horticulture.
00:14The nursery is one of several that has a permit to keep and propagate Kingslematia to create insurance populations.
00:21And so collectively you can safeguard that species by just having it around in other nurseries
00:27and if something happens to it, you know, it can be brought back.
00:30Plant biologist Professor Greg Jordan has previously found fossilised Kingslematia dating back 43,000 years.
00:38The species can't reproduce sexually because it has an extra chromosome.
00:43Kingslematia can actually live more or less forever if it's undisturbed by growing up, by falling over
00:51and then the branches grow roots out of the bottom of where it falls over.
00:56Until recently, there was only one known population of Kingslematia, which was discovered by Denny King in 1934.
01:04But earlier this year, a second stand was found in Tasmania's southwest.
01:09I did always feel that there might be something else out there.
01:13If someone just looked hard enough, heavens you'd have to look pretty hard.
01:16The location of the newly discovered wild population and the original stand are being kept secret.
01:22The Department of Natural Resources and Environment says this is to protect the plant from being damaged by visitors.
01:29Yes, I think it's a really exciting plant and really, you know, a good moment for all of us to
01:33reflect on how good it is not to go there and just know that we have it.
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