Zieria eungellaensis facts for kids

Zieria eungellaensis is a special plant that belongs to the citrus family, called Rutaceae. You can only find this plant in a few isolated mountains in Queensland, Australia. It's a small, open shrub with thin, tough branches. Its leaves have three parts, and its flowers grow in small groups. Each flower is usually white or pink and has four petals and four stamens. This plant is endemic to the Eungella National Park, which means it naturally grows only in that specific area.

What it Looks Like

Zieria eungellaensis is a neat, open shrub that can grow up to about 2 meters (6.5 feet) tall. It has strong, thin branches that can sometimes feel a bit rough or hairy.

Its leaves have a small stem, called a petiole, which is about 2 to 8 millimeters long. The middle part of the leaf is shaped like an oval or an egg. It's usually 5 to 16 millimeters long and 3 to 8 millimeters wide. The other two parts of the leaf are a little smaller. If you look closely at the underside of the leaf, you'll only see one clear vein in the middle. Unlike some other plants in the Zieria group, its leaves don't have obvious bumps or warts.

The flowers are white and grow either alone or in small groups of two or three. They appear where the leaves meet the stem, which are called leaf axils. Each flower group sits on a slightly bumpy stalk that is 1 to 3 millimeters long. These flower groups are shorter than the leaves themselves.

The sepals, which are like small leaves that protect the flower bud, are mostly smooth and less than 1 millimeter long and wide. The four petals are oval-shaped and about 2.5 to 3.5 millimeters long and 1.2 to 1.5 millimeters wide. Their exact size can be a bit different depending on where the plant grows. The four stamens, which are the parts that produce pollen, are about 1 millimeter long.

This plant usually flowers between May and August. After the flowers, it produces a fruit called a capsule. This capsule is smooth, about 3 millimeters long, and 2 millimeters wide.

How it Was Named

The plant Zieria eungellaensis was officially described for the first time in 2007. Two scientists, Marco Duretto and Paul Forster, gave it its name. They found a sample of the plant on Mount William, which is in the Eungella National Park.

They published their description in a science journal called Austrobaileya. The second part of its scientific name, eungellaensis, tells us where it comes from. It refers to the Eungella National Park, which is the only place this plant is found.

Where it Lives

This special Zieria plant grows in rocky cracks on mountain tops. It likes to be surrounded by thick, heath-like plants. You can find it in the Eungella National Park. Scientists have seen these plants on Mount William, Mount David, and Mount Dalrymple.

Looking After it

Zieria eungellaensis is listed as "least concern" under Queensland's Nature Conservation Act 1992. This means that, for now, there are enough of these plants, and they are not considered to be in danger of disappearing.