Zieria rimulosa

Zieria rimulosa is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to north Queensland. It is a shrub with leaves composed of three leaflets, and with white flowers with four petals and four stamens. Unlike many other zierias, its leaves are neither rough, glandular or densely hairy.

Zieria rimulosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Zieria
Species:
Z. rimulosa
Binomial name
Zieria rimulosa

Description

Zieria rimulosa is a shrub which grows to a height of about 15 m (50 ft) with its smaller branches rough and slightly angular. Its leaves are composed of three leaflets with the middle leaflet 5–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide. The leaves are bright green and both surfaces of the leaves are mostly glabrous apart from a few hairs on the lower surface. The edges of the leaflets often have small warts and are turned slightly downwards. The flowers are white to pale pink and are arranged in groups of up to fifty flowers in leaf axils, each flower 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) in diameter, the groups much longer than the leaves. The fruits are glabrous and dotted with glands. Flowers and fruits have been observed in April.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy and naming

Zieria rimulosa was first formally described in 1942 by Cyril Tenison White in Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland from a specimen collected on Mount Mulligan.[1] The specific epithet (rimulosa) is a Latin word meaning "full of little fissures or cracks".[5]

Distribution and habitat

This zieria is only known from Mount Mulligan and the Mount Carbine Tableland where it grows in woodland on rocky pavements and cliffs.[2][4]

Conservation

Zieria rimulosa is listed as "Vulnerable" under the Commonwealth Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) Act. The main threat to the species is its limited distribution.[2]

References

  1. "Zieria rimulosa". APNI. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  2. "Approved conservation advice for Zieria rimulosa" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  3. Wilson, Annette (ed.); George, Alex S.; Duretto, Mark F.; Forster, Paul I. (2013). Flora of Australia : Meliaceae, Rutaceae and Zygophyllaceae. CSIRO Publishing. p. 331. ISBN 9780643109568.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  4. Duretto, Marco F.; Forster, Paul Irwin (2007). "A taxonomic revision of the genus Zieria Sm. (Rutaceae) in Queensland". Austrobaileya. 7 (3): 525.
  5. "A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin". Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
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