Zieria bifida

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Zieria bifida
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Zieria
Species:
Z. bifida
Binomial name
Zieria bifida

Zieria bifida is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is only known from two areas near Nambour in Queensland. It is an open, straggly shrub with hairy branches, three-part leaves and small, white flowers in small groups, each flower with four petals and four stamens.

Contents

Description

Zieria bifida is an open, straggly shrub which grows to a height of 2 m (7 ft) and has spindly branches covered with forked hairs. The leaves have three parts, resembling clover leaves and the leaflets are elliptic to egg-shaped, 7–20 mm (0.3–0.8 in) long and 3.5–8 mm (0.1–0.3 in) wide. The petiole is 3–7 mm (0.1–0.3 in) long. There are few forked hairs along the edges of the leaflets and on the midrib on the lower surface. Unlike some similar zierias, the leaf margins are thickened and flat. [2] [3]

The flowers are white or pinkish-cream and are arranged in leaf axils in groups of about seven on a stalk 4–15 mm (0.2–0.6 in) long. The groups are about the same length or shorter than the leaves and usually only one to three flowers are open at the same time. The four petals are elliptical in shape, about 2.5 mm (0.1 in) long and 1.5 mm (0.06 in) wide and the four stamens are about 1.5 mm (0.06 in) long. Flowering mainly occurs from December to April and is followed by fruit which is a glabrous capsule, 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long and about1 mm (0.04 in) wide. [2] [3]

Taxonomy and naming

Zieria bifida was first formally described in 2007 by Marco Duretto and Paul Irwin Forster from a specimen collected in the Triunia National Park and the description was published in Austrobaileya . The species had previously been known as Zieria sp. "Brolga Park". [1] The specific epithet (bifida) is a Latin word meaning "split into two parts", [4] referring to the forked hairs on the branches and leaves. [2]

Distribution and habitat

This zieria grows in the transition zone between rainforest and open forest. It is only known from Triunia National Park (previously known as "Brolga Park") and a second nearby area on private property. [2] [3]

Conservation

This zieria is listed as "Endangered" under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992 [5] and under the Commonwealth Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) Act. The main threats to its survival are invasion by Lantana camara , and inappropriate fire regimes. [3]

Related Research Articles

<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.

Zieria actites is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is only found on a single, isolated mountain in Queensland. It is a dense, compact shrub with wiry branches, three-part leaves and small, cream to pale pink flowers with four petals and four stamens.

Zieria alata is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is only found on mountains in the Mossman and Daintree areas in Queensland. It is an open shrub with wiry, lumpy branches, three-part leaves and small, white, cream-coloured or pale pink flowers in small groups, each with four petals and four stamens.

Zieria boolbunda is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is only known from an area near Mount Perry in Queensland. It is a dense, compact shrub with wiry branches, three-part, clover-like leaves and pinkish-cream flowers in small groups, each flower with four petals and four stamens.

Zieria cephalophila is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is only found on a single, isolated mountain in Queensland. It is a compact shrub with wiry branches, warty, three-part leaves and one to three white flowers, each with four petals and four stamens, in leaf axils.

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.

Zieria eungellaensis is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is only found on a few isolated mountains in Queensland. It is a compact but open shrub with wiry branches, three-part leaves and flowers in small groups, each flower white or pink with four petals and four stamens, and is endemic to the Eungella National Park.

Zieria exsul is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area of southeast Queensland. It is an open, straggly shrub with hairy branches, three-part leaves and white flowers in groups of up to twelve, the groups longer than the leaves and each flower with four petals and four stamens.

<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 graniticola is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is a dense, compact shrub with erect wiry branches, three-part leaves and pale pink flowers in groups of up to three, each with four petals and four stamens. It is only known from two population near Stanthorpe in Queensland, Australia.

Zieria hydroscopica is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is only known from a single state forest near Monto in Queensland. It is a small shrub with erect, wiry branches, three-part leaves and groups of large numbers of flowers, the groups smaller than the leaves and the flowers with four petals and four stamens. It is similar to Zieria smithii, differing only in the type of hairs on the branches and lower surface of the leaves.

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 insularis is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and endemic to tropical north-eastern Queensland. It is an open, straggly shrub with wiry or spindly branches, three-part leaves and between one and a few white flowers with four petals and four stamens arranged in the leaf axils. It mostly grows near granite outcrops which are surrounded by forest or rainforest.

Zieria madida is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and endemic to tropical north-eastern Queensland. It is an open, compact shrub with three-part leaves and up to ten white to pale pink flowers with four petals and four stamens arranged in the leaf axils. It usually grows in exposed, windswept locations on granite mountaintops.

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.

Zieria scopulus is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and endemic to south-eastern Queensland. It is an open, compact shrub with wiry branches, three-part leaves and groups of up to twenty white flowers with four petals and four stamens, although only a small number of flowers are open at the same time. It is only known from two peaks of volcanic rock near Ipswich.

Zieria tenuis is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and endemic to the northern inland of Queensland. It is an open, straggly shrub with wiry branches, three-part leaves and groups of nine to twelve flowers with four white or pinkish petals and four stamens. It is similar to Z. collina but has larger petals, and to Z. cytisoides which has different leaf venation and differently shaped leaflets.

Zieria vagans, commonly known as Gurgeena stink bush, 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.

Zieria whitei is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area of north Queensland. It is a dense, compact shrub with erect wiry branches, three-part leaves and groups of up to three white to pale pink flowers with four petals and four stamens. It is only known from two populations.

References

  1. 1 2 "Zieria bifida". APNI. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Duretto, Marco F.; Forster, Paul I. (2007). "A taxonomic revision of the genus Zieria Sm. (Rutaceae) in Queensland". Austrobaileya. 7 (3): 488–491.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Approved Conservation Advice for Zieria sp. Brolga Park (A.R.Bean 1002)" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  4. ↑ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 345.
  5. ↑ "Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2009 No. 264 - sect. 5". Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
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