Zieria arborescens

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Zieria arborescens
Zieria arborescens leaves and flowers.jpg
Zieria arborescens leaves and flowers
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Zieria
Species:
Z. arborescens
Binomial name
Zieria arborescens

Zieria arborescens, commonly known as the tree zieria or stinkwood, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a bushy shrub or small tree with branches that are ridged and scaly or hairy, at least when young. It has leaves composed of three leaflets and groups of flowers with four white petals, the groups usually shorter than the leaves.

Contents

Description

Zieria arborescens is a robust shrub or small tree which grows to a height of 5–10 m (20–30 ft). Its branches are ridged where older leaves have fallen and are usually scaly or hairy, at least when young. The leaves are composed of three leaflets which vary in size and shape but are mostly lance-shaped or oblong, 50–90 mm (2–4 in) long and 6–15 mm (0.2–0.6 in) wide with a stalk 15–30 mm (0.6–1 in) long. The edges of the leaves are more or less rolled downwards with the upper surface dark green and glabrous while the lower surface is hairy and pale in colour. Both surfaces of the leaf are dotted with oil glands. [1] [2] [3]

The flowers are white or pale pink and are arranged in large groups in upper leaf axils, the groups usually shorter than the leaves. There are four more or less hairy, triangular sepal lobes about 1.5–2.5 mm (0.06–0.1 in) long. The four petals are 3–6.5 mm (0.1–0.3 in) long and slightly hairy. In common with other zierias, there are only four stamens. Flowering occurs from September to November and is followed by a capsule containing seeds which have an ant-attracting elaiosome. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Z. arborescens in the Australian National Botanic Gardens Zieria arborescens habit.jpg
Z. arborescens in the Australian National Botanic Gardens

Taxonomy and naming

Zieria arborescens was first formally described in 1811 by English taxonomist John Sims and the description was published in Botanical Magazine. The original specimen was from Joseph Banks's collection in London. [5] [6] The specific epithet (arborescens) is derived from the Latin word arbor meaning "tree" [7] :813 with the suffix -escens meaning "about to become" or "almost". [7] :44

Three subspecies have been described and others remain in the manuscript stage:

Distribution and habitat

This zieria occurs in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, growing in wet forest and at the margins of rainforest. Subspecies glabrifolia only occurs on the New England Tablelands between the Girraween National Park in Queensland and Torrington in New South Wales. Subsp. decurrens is only recorded from near Jervis Bay where it grows in drier eucalyptus areas and features ridged non-warty branches and more hairs on the young branchlets. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Zieria smithii</i> Species of flowering plant

Zieria smithii, commonly known as sandfly zieria, lanoline bush or Smithian zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern and south-eastern Australia. It is a robust shrub with its leaves composed of three leaflets, and groups of flowers with four white petals, the groups usually shorter than the leaves. It is common and widespread along the coast and adjacent ranges.

<i>Zieria aspalathoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Zieria aspalathoides, commonly known as the whorled zieria, heath zieria, hairy zieria or heathy zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a heath-like shrub with leaves that appear to be whorled and with pink flowers in groups of three, each with four petals and four stamens.

<i>Zieria laevigata</i> Species of flowering plant

Zieria laevigata commonly known as smooth zieria, smooth-leaved zieria or twiggy midge bush is a species of flowering plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect shrub with smooth, three-part leaves and pale pink or white flowers with four petals and four stamens. It grows in poor soil on rocky outcrops and flowers from late winter to spring.

<i>Zieria compacta</i> Species of shrub

Zieria compacta is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect, bushy shrub with leaves composed of three leaflets, and white flowers with four petals and four stamens. It usually grows in rocky places on steep hills.

<i>Zieria adenodonta</i> Species of flowering plant

Zieria adenodonta, commonly known as the Wollumbin zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a dense, bushy shrub with leaves composed of three leaflets which are warty on the upper surface. In winter and early spring it has groups of five to eight flowers, each with four white petals, the groups usually shorter than the leaves.

<i>Zieria minutiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Zieria minutiflora, commonly known as twiggy zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a small, erect, twiggy shrub with leaves composed of three leaflets, and clusters of small white flowers with four petals and four stamens. It usually grows as an understorey shrub in eucalypt woodland.

Zieria distans is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is only found on a few isolated mountains in Queensland. It is a straggly shrub with wiry branches, warty, three-part leaves and clusters of up to about twenty small white flowers, each with four petals and four stamens, in the leaf axils.

<i>Zieria fraseri</i> Species of shrub

Zieria fraseri is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a dense, bushy shrub with leaves composed of three leaflets, and white flowers with four petals and four stamens. It usually grows in rocky places on steep hills.

Zieria furfuracea is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub with three-part leaves and groups of large numbers of small white flowers, the groups shorter than the leaves. It grows on the coast and tablelands north from Wyong.

Zieria inexpectata is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and endemic to south-eastern Queensland. It is a small, compact shrub with erect, wiry branches, three-part leaves and groups of up to twelve white flowers, the groups longer than the leaves and the flowers with four petals and four stamens. It was unexpectedly discovered by the authors during a field trip and its discovery led to a paper describing the zierias of Queensland, including sixteen new species.

Zieria laxiflora, commonly known as wallum zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect shrub with leaves composed of three leaflets, and clusters of about nine white or pale pink flowers with four petals and four stamens. It usually grows is coastal heathland.

Zieria obovata is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a small, open shrub with leaves composed of three leaflets, and with up to three cream-coloured to pale pink flowers with four petals and four stamens. It usually grows on steep, rocky slopes in wet open forest.

<i>Zieria odorifera</i> Species of flowering plant

Zieria odorifera, commonly known as the fragrant zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to inland New South Wales. It is an aromatic shrub with ridged branches, leaves composed of three leaflets and groups of mostly three pale to deep pink, four-petalled flowers in spring.

<i>Zieria pilosa</i> Species of shrub

Zieria pilosa, commonly known as hairy zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to coastal New South Wales. It is a shrub with hairy branches, leaves composed of three leaflets and usually only single white to pale pink flowers in the leaf axils.

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 robertsiorum is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to the wet tropics of far north-eastern Queensland. It is a shrub with leaves composed of three leaflets, and flowers with four white petals. The flowers are arranged in groups of up to ten which are no longer than the leaves.

<i>Zieria southwellii</i> Species of shrub

Zieria southwellii is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a large shrub or small tree with its leaves composed of three leaflets, and has groups of large numbers of flowers with four white petals, the groups shorter than the leaves. It grows near rainforest in northern New South Wales and far south-eastern Queensland.

Zieria vagans is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and endemic to a small area near Binjour in south-eastern Queensland. It is an open, straggly shrub with densely hairy branches, three-part leaves and groups of up to fifteen flowers with four creamy-white petals and four stamens.

<i>Zieria veronicea</i> Species of flowering plant

Zieria veronicea, commonly known as the pink zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a small, lemon-scented shrub densely covered with velvety hairs. Up to three flowers with four pink petals appear in leaf axils in late spring.

<i>Boronia inflexa</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia inflexa is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to tablelands near the New South Wales - Queensland border in Australia. It is an erect, woody shrub with pinnate leaves and up to seven white to pink four-petalled flowers in the leaf axils. Boronia bipinnata is similar but has larger, bipinnate or tripinnate leaves and smaller sepals and petals.

References

  1. 1 2 Armstrong, James Andrew; Harden, Gwen. "Zieria arborescens". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney; plantnet. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Armstrong, James Andrew (2002). "A taxonomic revision of the genus Zieria Sm. (Rutaceae) in Queensland". Austrobaileya. 15 (3): 485–486.
  3. 1 2 Fairley, Alan; Moore, Philip (2010). Native plants of the Sydney region : from Newcastle to Nowra and west to the Dividing Range (3rd ed.). Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin. p. 338. ISBN   9781741755718.
  4. "Zieria arborescens". Understorey Network. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  5. "Zieria arborescens". APNI. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  6. Sims, John (1811). "Zieria smithii Lanceolate zieria". Curtis's Botanical Magazine. 34: 1395. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  7. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  8. "Zieria arborescens subsp. arborescens". APNI. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  9. "Zieria arborescens subsp. decurrens". APNI. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  10. "Zieria arborescens subsp. glabrifolia". APNI. Retrieved 22 October 2016.