Zieria tenuis facts for kids

Zieria tenuis is a special plant that belongs to the citrus family, called Rutaceae. You can only find this plant in the northern inland areas of Queensland, Australia. It's like a unique treasure of that region!

This plant grows as an open, somewhat messy-looking shrub. It has thin, flexible branches. Its leaves are made of three parts, and its flowers are usually white or pinkish. Each flower has four petals and four stamens. Zieria tenuis looks a bit like two other plants, Z. collina and Z. cytisoides. However, it has bigger petals than Z. collina. It also has different leaf patterns and shapes compared to Z. cytisoides.

What Does Zieria Tenuis Look Like?

Zieria tenuis is an open, sprawling shrub. It can grow up to about 1.5 m (5 ft) tall. Its branches are thin and covered with soft, fine hairs.

The leaves of this plant are interesting. Each leaf has three smaller parts called leaflets. These leaflets are shaped like long ovals. The middle leaflet is about 9–32 mm (0.4–1 in) long and 3–7 mm (0.1–0.3 in) wide. The stem that holds the leaf is called a petiole. It is about 5–18 mm (0.2–0.7 in) long.

If you look closely at the underside of the leaflets, you'll see raised lines, like tiny roads. The top side of the leaves has very small, star-shaped hairs.

The flowers of Zieria tenuis grow in groups. Each group has about nine to twelve flowers. These groups grow where the leaves meet the stem, which is called a leaf axil. The flower groups are shorter than the leaves themselves.

Each group of flowers grows on a stalk that is about 8–18 mm (0.3–0.7 in) long. This stalk is very thin, only about 0.5 mm (0.02 in) wide. Small, scale-like parts called bracts surround the flowers. These bracts are about 1–3 mm (0.04–0.1 in) long and stay on the plant while it flowers.

The flowers have small, triangular parts called sepals. These are about 1–2.5 mm (0.04–0.1 in) long. The four petals are either white or a light pink color. They are shaped like ovals or eggs, about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and 1 mm (0.04 in) wide. Both sides of the petals are covered with tiny, star-shaped hairs. Each flower also has four stamens, which are the parts that produce pollen.

Zieria tenuis usually blooms between April and July. After the flowers, the plant produces fruits. These fruits are smooth, hairless capsules. They are about 3 mm (0.1 in) long and 2 mm (0.08 in) wide.

How Zieria Tenuis Got Its Name

The scientific name for this plant, Zieria tenuis, was officially given in 2007. Two scientists, Marco Duretto and Paul Forster, described it for the first time. They found a sample of the plant near a place called Agate Creek, close to Forsayth. Their description was published in a science journal called Austrobaileya.

The second part of the name, tenuis, comes from a Latin word. It means "thin." This name was chosen because the flower stalks of Zieria tenuis are very thin.

Where Zieria Tenuis Grows

You can find Zieria tenuis in specific areas of Queensland, Australia. It grows near Forsayth and inside the White Mountains National Park. These areas are part of larger natural regions called the Desert Uplands and Einasleigh Uplands.