Zieria rimulosa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Zieria rimulosa |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Zieria
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| Species: |
rimulosa
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Zieria rimulosa is a special plant that belongs to the citrus family, called Rutaceae. You can only find it in northern Queensland, Australia. This plant is a shrub, which means it's a woody plant smaller than a tree. It has leaves made up of three small parts, called leaflets. When it blooms, it shows off white flowers, each with four petals and four stamens (the parts that make pollen). What's cool about this plant is that its leaves are smooth, not rough or super hairy like some other plants in the Zieria group.
Contents
What it Looks Like
Zieria rimulosa is a shrub that can grow up to about 1.5 m (5 ft) tall. Its smaller branches feel a bit rough and have a slightly angled shape.
Leaves
The leaves of this plant are made of three small leaflets. The middle leaflet is usually 5–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide. They are a bright green color. Both sides of the leaves are mostly smooth, but you might find a few hairs on the underside. The edges of the leaflets often have tiny bumps, like warts, and they curve slightly downwards.
Flowers
The flowers are white or sometimes a very light pink. They grow in groups of up to fifty flowers. These groups appear where the leaves meet the stem, which is called a leaf axil. Each flower is small, about 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) across. The flower groups are much longer than the leaves themselves.
Fruits
After the flowers, the plant produces fruits. These fruits are smooth and have small glands (tiny dots) on them. Scientists have seen this plant flowering and fruiting in April.
Plant Name and History
Naming the Plant
The plant Zieria rimulosa was first officially described in 1942. This was done by a scientist named Cyril Tenison White. He wrote about it in a scientific paper called Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland. He studied a plant sample found on Mount Mulligan.
Meaning of the Name
The second part of its scientific name, rimulosa, comes from a Latin word. It means "full of little fissures or cracks." This might refer to a feature of the plant, perhaps its bark or leaves.
Where it Lives
This special Zieria plant is only found in two places: Mount Mulligan and the Mount Carbine Tableland. It likes to grow in woodlands, especially on rocky areas and cliffs.
Protecting the Plant
Zieria rimulosa is considered a "Vulnerable" species. This means it's at risk of disappearing if we don't protect it. The Australian government lists it as vulnerable under a law called the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) Act. The biggest reason it's at risk is that it only grows in a very small area.
