Zieria buxijugum

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Box Range zieria
Zieria buxijugum.jpg
Zieria buxijugum in the Australian National Botanic Gardens
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Zieria
Species:
Z. buxijugum
Binomial name
Zieria buxijugum
J.D.Briggs & J.A.Armstr. [1]

Zieria buxijugum, commonly known as the Box Range zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area on the south coast of New South Wales. It is a dense, rounded shrub with strongly scented, velvety, clover-like leaves composed of three leaflets. In early spring there are large clusters of small white flowers with four petals near the ends of the branches.

Contents

Description

Zieria buxijugum is a dense, rounded shrub which usually grows to a height of 2–3.5 m (7–10 ft) and has warty branches covered with short hairs. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs and are composed of three leaflets with the central leaflet linear to narrow lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 10–30 mm (0.4–1 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) wide with a stalk 2–5 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long. The other two leaflets are similar in shape but slightly shorter. Each leaflet is a dull grey-green, has a velvety covering of hairs and warty blisters and is strongly scented when crushed. [2] [3] [4]

Masses of white flowers about 6–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) in diameter are arranged in clusters of between 10 and 16 but sometimes as many as 28, in leaf axils. The clusters have a hairy, warty stalk 4–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long and are usually longer than the leaves. There are one or two bracts at the base of the cluster. The sepals are triangular, less than 1 mm (0.04 in) long and covered with velvety hairs. The four petals are egg-shaped, about 4 mm (0.2 in) long, 2 mm (0.08 in) wide, densely hairy on the lower side and sparsely hairy on top. The four stamens are tipped with an orange-red anther. Flowering occurs mainly in September and is followed by fruit which is a more or less glabrous capsule. [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy and naming

Zieria buxijugum was first formally described in 2002 by John Briggs and James Andrew Armstrong from a specimen collected west of Pambula. The description was published in Australian Systematic Botany . [1] [5] The specific epithet (buxijugum) is derived from the Latin words buxus meaning "wood" [6] :159 and jugum meaning "ridge" or "summit of a mountain". [6] :661

Distribution and habitat

Box Range zieria is only known from a rock outcrop on private property west of Pambula. [3] [4]

Conservation

This zieria is listed as "Critically Endangered" under the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act and as "Endangered" under the Commonwealth Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) Act. Since its discovery the population size has fluctuated from 68 when discovered in 1986 to 40 in the mid-1990s to 32 mature individuals in 2001 when wire mesh guards were erected to prevent grazing by swamp wallabies. By 2016, the population had increased to 130. The main threats to the species are grazing by wallabies and future changes in land ownership. [7]

Related Research Articles

Zieria lasiocaulis, commonly known as Willi Willi zieria, is a rare species of flowering plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a tall shrub or small tree with three-part leaves and inconspicuous white flowers, found only at high altitudes in areas with a high rainfall.

<i>Zieria citriodora</i> Species of plant

Zieria citriodora, commonly known as lemon-scented zieria, is a species of flowering plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area near the border between New South Wales and Victoria. It is a small shrub with lemon-scented leaves and small, pale pink or white flowers which appear from late winter to summer.

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

Zieria collina commonly known as hill zieria, is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in south-east Queensland. It is a large, spreading shrub with leaves composed of three leaflets, and small flowers with four white petals.

<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 tuberculata</i> Species of flowering plant

Zieria tuberculata, commonly known as warty zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area on the south coast of New South Wales. It is a shrub with warty, hairy branches and leaves and large groups of creamy-white, four-petalled flowers in late winter to spring.

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

Zieria baeuerlenii, commonly known as the Bomaderry zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area on the south coast of New South Wales. It is a sometimes straggly shrub with velvety leaves composed of three leaflets. In late autumn to spring there are clusters of small white to pinkish flowers with four petals and which appear to be unable to produce seeds.

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

Zieria caducibracteata is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a tall shrub or small tree with leaves composed of three lance-shaped leaflets. In early spring there are clusters of small white flowers with four petals near the ends of the branches.

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

Zieria covenyi, commonly known as the Coveny's zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. It is an erect shrub which multiples asexually from root suckers and has three-part, clover-like leaves and clusters of white to pink flowers with four petals and four stamens.

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 floydii</i> Species of flowering plant

Zieria floydii, commonly known as the Floyd's zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to the New England Tableland in New South Wales. It is an erect shrub with warty, hairy branches, three-part, clover-like leaves and clusters of creamy-white flowers with four petals and four stamens.

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

Zieria formosa, commonly known as the shapely zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area on the south coast of New South Wales. It is a dense, rounded shrub with velvety, clover-like leaves composed of three leaflets. In spring there are clusters of small, pale pink flowers with four petals near the ends of the branches. It is similar to the Box Range zieria which has a similar distribution, but has wider leaflets and an appendage on its anthers.

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 hindii, commonly known as the Hind's zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in north-eastern New South Wales. It is an erect, slender shrub with warty branches, three-part, clover-like leaves, and clusters of small white flowers with four petals and four stamens. It is only known from the Nightcap Range.

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

Zieria ingramii, commonly known as Keith's zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in central New South Wales. It is a slender, spindly, aromatic shrub with three-part, clover-like leaves and clusters of about seven white to pale pink flowers with four petals and four stamens. The species is only known from two state forests near Dubbo.

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

Zieria involucrata is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a sparse, erect shrub with mostly three-part leaves and groups of up to 21 small white flowers, the groups shorter than the leaves. It mostly occurs in the lower Blue Mountains, but is also known from other areas around Sydney.

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

Zieria littoralis, commonly known as dwarf zieria is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is an erect or spreading shrub with velvety, three-part, clover-like leaves and clusters of up to thirty white or pale pink flowers with four petals and four stamens. It grows on exposed, rocky coastal headlands.

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

Zieria murphyi, commonly known as Murphy's zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and endemic to New South Wales. It is a slender shrub with simple, or three-part leaves and between three and nine white to pale pink flowers with four petals and four stamens arranged in the leaf axils. It usually grows in sheltered places in open forest, often at the base of cliffs.

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

Zieria obcordata, commonly known as obcordate-leafed zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and endemic to New South Wales. It is an aromatic, densely branched, rounded shrub with small, hairy, three-part leaves and up to three white to pale pink flowers with four petals and four stamens arranged in the leaf axils. It occurs in two disjunct populations in the central-west of the state.

<i>Zieria parrisiae</i> Species of plant

Zieria parrisiae, commonly known as Parris' zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area near Pambula on the south coast of New South Wales. It is a bushy shrub with warty, clover-like leaves composed of three leaflets and in spring there are clusters of up to 24 white to pale yellow flowers with four petals, near the ends of the branches.

Zieria verrucosa is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area of Queensland. It is a densely-branched, hairy shrub with three-part, clover-like leaves and large groups of creamy-white to pink, four-petalled flowers.

References

  1. 1 2 "Zieria buxijugum". APNI. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 Armstrong, James Andrew; Harden, Gwen. "Zieria buxijugum". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: plantnet. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "Zieria buxijugum - critically endangered species listing". Government of New South Wales Department of the Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Recovery Plan for Zieria formosa, Zieria buxijugum and Zieria parrisiae". Government of New South Wales Department of the Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  5. Armstrong, Jim A. (2002). "The genus Zieria (Rutaceae): a systematic and evolutionary study". Australian Systematic Botany. 15 (3): 320–324. doi:10.1071/SB00040.
  6. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  7. "Conservation Advice Zieria buxijugum Box Range Zieria" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment. Retrieved 2 January 2017.