Amongst the various collections in these Gardens are some of these plants. The Garden aims to increase the number of rare plants, particularly of those from the Hunter Region, as development of its collections takes place. Some plants are naturally rare in the wild. However, the majority of those plants considered to be rare, have been subject to the pressures of urban and industrial expansion and tourist developments in reducing the amount of their habitat, and to agriculture, forestry, lining, frequent fires, recreation, etc. which may alter or degrade the habitat. Just how important a particular plant is, no latter how inconspicuous it light be, to the functioning of its community is not always any easy question to answer.
Plants are basic to the existence of natural habitats and their communities, as well as to humans.
Some of the rare and threatened plants cultivated at the Hunter Region Botanic Gardens may be seen growing in the beds near the beginning of the Cunningham Track. A South Australian plant which has suffered due to agriculture and grazing. A daisy-like herb of open grasslands which has suffered from grazing, as it cannot tolerate heavy grazing or competition from other species. There are threatened remnants near Melbourne and in Canberra. From the western Sydney area, it is threatened by urban and industrial expansion, including the development of the proposed Badgerys Creek airport.