Zieria laevigata

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Smooth zieria
Zieria laevigata.jpg
Zieria laevigata in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Zieria
Species:
Z. laevigata
Binomial name
Zieria laevigata

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.

Contents

Description

Zieria laevigata is an erect shrub which grows to a height of about 150 cm (60 in) and has branches which are mostly glabrous. The leaves are composed of three leaflets with the central one linear or elliptic, 15–40 mm (0.6–2 in) long and 1–3 mm (0.04–0.1 in) wide with a petiole 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long. Unlike those of most other zierias, the leaflets are not warty but their edges are rolled under, sometimes to the mid-rib. The upper surface is dark green but the lower one is pale green and velvety. The flowers are usually arranged in groups of three, sometimes up to 23, the groups about the same length as the leaves. The sepals are triangular, about 2.5 mm (0.1 in) long and covered with warty glands. The four petals are white to pale pink, 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long, overlap at their bases and are covered with tiny, soft hairs. Flowering occurs from August to December and the fruits which follow are present from November to December and are glabrous with scattered warts. [2] [3]

Taxonomy and naming

Zieria laevigata was first formally described in 1815 by Aimé Bonpland, along with Zieria smithii , Zieria microphylla (now Z.pilosa ) and Zieria macrophylla (now Z. arborescens ). The description was published in Bonpland's book Description des Plantes Rares cultivees a Malmaison et a Navarre. [1] The specific epithet (laevigata) is a Latin word meaning "smooth". [4]

Distribution and habitat

Smooth zieria is widespread and common on the coasts and nearby tablelands from near Stanthorpe in Queensland to Jervis Bay in New South Wales. It grows in poor soil on sandstone and granite outcrops, often with Eucalyptus prava . [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

<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 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 montana</i> Species of shrub

Zieria montana is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in south-east Queensland. It is a shrub with rough, ridged branches, leaves composed of three leaflets and groups of white, four-petalled flowers in spring and early summer.

<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 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 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.

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.

<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.

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 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 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.

<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 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 laevigata". APNI. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 Armstrong, James Andrew; Harden, Gwen. "Zieria laevigata". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: plantnet. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  3. 1 2 Duretto, Marco; Forster, Paul (2007). "A taxonomic revision of the genus Zieria Sm. (Rutaceae) in Queensland". Austrobaileya. 7 (3): 518.
  4. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 459.