''Zieria citriodora'', commonly known as lemon-scented zieria, is a species of flowering plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area near the border between New South Wales and Victoria. It is a small shrub with lemon-scented leaves and small, pale pink or white flowers which appear from late winter to summer.

Description

''Zieria citriodora'' is a low or rounded shrub which grows to high and wide and which often grows from

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s. Its branches are dotted with oil glands and covered with short, soft hairs, often becoming glabrous with age. The leaves are composed of three leaflets with the central one linear or lance-shaped, long and wide with a petiole long. Each leaflet is dotted with oil glands, has a covering of short, soft hairs and has its edges more or less rolled under. The leaves are strongly lemon-scented when crushed. The flowers are arranged singly or in groups of up to three in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s, the groups usually much longer than the leaves. The sepals are triangular, about long and hairy. The four

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are white to pale pink, long, overlap at their edges and are covered with tiny, soft hairs. Flowering occurs from late winter to summer and the fruits which follow are hairy and dotted with oil glands.

Taxonomy and naming

Lemon-scented zieria was first formally described in 2002 by James Armstrong from a specimen collected near the village of Numeralla and the description was published in '' Australian Systematic Botany''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''citriodora'') is derived from the Latin words ''citrus'' meaning "citron-tree" and ''odora'' meaning "having a fragrant smell."

Distribution and habitat

''Zieria citriodora'' mostly grows in shallow gravelly or sandy soils on moderately steep slopes in low eucalypt woodland. It is found in scattered populations in New South Wales and Victoria. In New South Wales, there are two populations which are restricted to the Kybeyan Range east of Cooma and in Victoria to four populations in East Gippsland. These populations are all within the

South Eastern Highlands The South Eastern Highlands is an interim Australian bioregion in eastern Australia, that spans parts of the states and territories of New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, and Victoria. The bioregion comprises and is approxi ...

biogeographic region An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

Conservation

The total population of ''Z. citriodora'' in New South Wales is estimated to be less than 600 individual plants including about 150 plants on crown land near Numerella and another of 32 plants on private land near Kybeyan. A count in 2004 of the species in Victoria estimated a population size of about 260 plants, all in the Alpine National Park near Omeo. The main threats to the species are browsing by both native hervibores and domestic stock, pressure from rural residential development and altered fire regines. The species is listed as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Use in horticulture

Lemon-scented zieria is most easily propagated from cuttings and grows best in well-drained, acidic soil. It requires little fertilizer and is usually not affected by pests or disease if grown in well-drained soil. It is frost resistant and tolerates exposed and partly shaded positions.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q8071720 citriodora Sapindales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state) Plants described in 2002