Headland zieria | |
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Z. prostrata in the Australian National Botanic Gardens | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Sapindales |
Family: | Rutaceae |
Genus: | Zieria |
Species: | Z. prostrata |
Binomial name | |
Zieria prostrata | |
Zieria prostrata commonly known as headland zieria, [2] is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to the Coffs Harbour district in New South Wales. It is a prostrate shrub with leaves composed of three leaflets, and flowers with four pink to white petals. It is only known from four headlands and is classified as an endangered species.
Zieria prostrata is a prostrate or low, scrambling shrub with glabrous, ridged branches and which grows to a height of 0.5–1 m (2–3 ft). Its leaves are composed of three narrow oval leaflets with the middle leaflet 10–16 mm (0.4–0.6 in) long and 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) wide and the others smaller. Both surfaces of the leaf are the same colour, dotted with oil glands and glabrous, with a stalk 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long. [2] [3] [4]
The flowers are pink in the bud stage but turn white as they open. They are arranged in groups of mostly 3 to 7 (sometimes up to 32) in leaf axils and the groups are usually much shorter than the leaves. The four sepal lobes are about 0.5 mm (0.02 in) long, the four petals are 2–2.5 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long and in common with other zierias, there are only four stamens. Flowering mainly occurs from late August to late September or October and is followed by fruit which is a follicle composed of up to four sections joined at the base and which burst open to release their seeds when ripe. [2] [3] [4]
Zieria prostrata was first formally described in 1996 by James Andrew Armstrong in Australian Native Plants: propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping. [5] The specific epithet (prostrata) is a Latin word meaning "down flat" or "laid low". [6]
This zieria grows in low coastal heathland on headlands in a single nature reserve near Coffs Harbour. It is difficult to count the population size but the National Parks and Wildlife Service estimated about one thousand individuals in 1998. Other headlands along the New South Wales coastline have similar zierias and it is possible that other populations of this species may yet be discovered. [2] [3]
Zieria prostrata is classified as "Endangered" under the Commonwealth Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) Act. The main threat to its survival is invasion by introduced species, especially kikuyu ( Pennisetum clandestinum ), bitou bush ( Chrysanthemoides monilifera ) and lantana ( Lantana camara ). [2] [3]
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.
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.
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.
Zieria adenophora, commonly known as the Araluen Zieria is a plant in the family Rutaceae and is only found near Araluen in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales. It is a spreading shrub with small glossy, warty leaves and white or pink four-petalled flowers in spring. It is a rare plant with fewer than one hundred plants known from only one site.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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 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 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 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.
Zieria oreocena, commonly known as Grampians zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to Victoria, Australia. It is a spindly shrub with glabrous, three-part, clover-like leaves and clusters of up to thirty white flowers with four petals and four stamens. It is a rare species, only found in the northern Grampians.
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 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.