Zieria actites
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 actites | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Rutaceae |
| Genus: | Zieria |
| Species: | Z. actites |
| Binomial name | |
| Zieria actites | |
Description
Zieria actites is a dense, compact shrub which grows to a height of 1 m (3 ft) and has erect, wiry branches. The leaves have three parts, resembling clover leaves and have a smell like aniseed. The central leaflet is 13–28 mm (0.5–1 in) long, 6.5–11 mm (0.3–0.4 in) wide with the other two leaflets slightly smaller. The leaflets have a distinct mid-vein on the lower surface and transparent oil glands. The leaf stalk is 2–10 mm (0.08–0.4 in) long.[2][3]
The flowers are cream to pale pink and are arranged in leaf axils in groups of between nine and twenty on a stalk 8–20 mm (0.3–0.8 in) long. The four petals are narrow elliptical in shape, about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and hairy near their edges and the four stamens are less than 1 mm (0.04 in) long. Flowering mainly occurs from September to May and is followed by fruit which is a glabrous capsule, about 3 mm (0.1 in) long and 2 mm (0.08 in) wide.[2][3]
Taxonomy and naming
Zieria actites was first formally described in 1941 by Marco Duretto and Paul Forster from a specimen collected on Mount Larcom, 5 km (3 mi) north-west of Yarwun and the description was published in Austrobaileya.[1] The specific epithet (actites) is said to be derived from the Greek word actites, meaning "watcher", referring to the fact that the Pacific ocean can be seen from the mountain tops where this species occurs.[2] In Ancient Greek, aktitēs (ἀκτίτης) is however the word for "dweller on the coast".[4]
Distribution and habitat
This zieria grows in open woodland in crevices on rocky cliffs and outcrops on Mount Larcom, higher than about 630 m (2,000 ft) above sea leavel.[2][3]
Conservation
This zieria is listed as "Endangered" under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.[3]
References
- "Zieria actites". APNI. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- Duretto, Marco F.; Forster, Paul I. (2007). "A taxonomic revision of the genus Zieria Sm. (Rutaceae) in Queensland". Austrobaileya. 7 (3): 480–483.
- "Zieria actites". Queensland Government: wetland info. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). A Greek-English Lexicon. Revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie.Oxford: Clarendon Press.
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