Zieria fraseri facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Zieria fraseri |
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| Z. fraseri growing near Douglas Park | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Zieria
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| Species: |
fraseri
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| Synonyms | |
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Zieria laevigata var. fraseri (Hook.) Domin |
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Zieria fraseri is a special plant that belongs to the citrus family, called Rutaceae. You can only find it growing naturally in eastern Australia. It's a busy, bushy shrub with leaves that have three parts, and pretty white flowers. Each flower has four petals and four stamens. This plant usually likes to grow in rocky places on steep hills.
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What Does Zieria Fraseri Look Like?
Zieria fraseri is a thick, bushy shrub. It can grow up to about 2 m (7 ft) tall. Its leaves are made of three smaller leaf parts, called leaflets. The middle leaflet is usually 6–35 mm (0.2–1 in) long and 2–8 mm (0.08–0.3 in) wide. The other two leaflets are a bit smaller. The stem that holds the leaf is about 2–8 mm (0.08–0.3 in) long.
The top side of the leaves is smooth. But the bottom side is covered with many tiny, branched hairs. You can also clearly see the main vein on the underside of the leaf.
Flowers and Fruit
The flowers of Zieria fraseri are white or sometimes a very light pink. They grow in groups of three to twenty or more. These groups appear where the leaves join the stem. The flowers have four small, hairy parts called sepals, which are about 2 mm (0.08 in) long. They also have four petals, which are about 5 mm (0.2 in) long. Like other plants in the Zieria group, this plant has only four stamens.
Zieria fraseri usually blooms in spring. After the flowers, it grows fruit. The fruit is a smooth follicle (a type of dry fruit) with tiny oil glands on it.
How Zieria Fraseri Got Its Name
The plant Zieria fraseri was first officially described in 1848. This was done by a botanist named William Jackson Hooker. He wrote about it in a book called Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia. The plant was found on Mount Barney.
Hooker named the plant fraseri to honor Charles Fraser. Charles Fraser was the person who collected the first sample of this plant.
Different Types of Zieria Fraseri
There are two slightly different types, or subspecies, of Zieria fraseri:
- Zieria fraseri subsp. fraseri: This type has leaves that are longer than the groups of flowers.
- Zieria fraseri subsp. robusta: This type has leaves that are shorter than the groups of flowers.
Where Zieria Fraseri Grows
This special Zieria plant grows in forests. You can find it on rocky ridges and near cliffs. It lives in the McPherson Range in New South Wales and the Scenic Rim area in Queensland.
