Zieria whitei facts for kids

The Zieria whitei is a special plant. It belongs to the family of citrus plants, called Rutaceae. This plant is only found in a small area of northern Queensland, Australia. When a plant or animal is only found in one specific place, it is called endemic.

This plant is a small, bushy shrub. It has stiff, upright branches. Its leaves are made of three parts. The plant also grows groups of white or light pink flowers. Each flower has four petals and four stamens. Scientists only know of two places where this plant grows.

What the Zieria Whitei Looks Like

The Zieria whitei is a thick, bushy plant. It usually grows to about 0.5 m (2 ft) tall. Its branches are straight and thin like wires. When they are young, these branches can be a bit hairy.

The leaves of this plant have three small parts. These parts are shaped like narrow eggs. They are about 5–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long and 1–3 mm (0.04–0.1 in) wide. Each leaf part sits on a very short stem, less than 1 mm (0.04 in) long. The top of the leaves might have a few hairs. But the bottom of the leaves is quite hairy.

The flowers are white or light pink. They usually grow in groups of three. These groups appear where the leaves meet the stem (called the leaf axil). Each flower has a hairy stalk that is 3–14 mm (0.1–0.6 in) long. The flower groups are often longer than the leaves themselves.

The plant has small, leaf-like parts called sepals. These sepal-parts are egg-shaped or triangular. They are about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and 1–2 mm (0.04–0.08 in) wide. The four petals are white to light pink. They are about 3 mm (0.1 in) long and 1.5 mm (0.06 in) wide. The outside of the petals is covered with soft hairs. The four stamens, which make pollen, are about 1 mm (0.04 in) long.

This plant flowers from May to July. After flowering, it produces smooth, dry seed pods. These pods are called capsules. They are about 3.5 mm (0.1 in) long and 2 mm (0.08 in) wide.

How the Zieria Whitei Got Its Name

Scientists have a special way of naming plants and animals. This is called taxonomy. The Zieria whitei was first described in 1942. A scientist named Cyril Tenison White gave it a different name back then. He called it Zieria aspalathoides var. intermedia. He wrote about it in a science paper called Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland.

Later, in 2002, another scientist named James Armstrong thought it should be its own species. He suggested the name Zieria whitei. But he did not officially publish this name.

Then, in 2007, two scientists, Marco Duretto and Paul Forster, officially published the new name. They used the name Zieria whitei. The second part of the name, whitei, was chosen to honor Cyril White. He was the scientist who first studied many plants in the Zieria group.

Where the Zieria Whitei Lives

The Zieria whitei plant grows in specific places. It can be found among other small, heath-like shrubs. It also grows in woodlands. These areas are near the towns of Ravenshoe and Atherton. Both of these towns are in north Queensland, Australia. This region is known as the Einasleigh Uplands.