''Zieria formosa'', commonly known as the shapely zieria, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area on the south coast of New South Wales. It is a dense, rounded shrub with velvety, clover-like leaves composed of three leaflets. In spring there are clusters of small, pale pink flowers with 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 near the ends of the branches. It is similar to the Box Range zieria ('' Zieria buxijugum'') which has a similar distribution, but has wider leaflets and an

appendage An appendage (or outgrowth) is an external body part, or natural prolongation, that protrudes from an organism's body. In arthropods, an appendage refers to any of the homologous body parts that may extend from a body segment, including anten ...

on its

anthers The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

Description

''Zieria formosa'' is a dense, rounded shrub which grows about high and wide. Its younger branches are warty and covered with branched hairs. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs and are composed of three leaflets with the central leaflet long and wide with a stalk long. The leaves appear silvery due to a dense covering of velvety hairs. Clusters of between 25 and 45 pale pink flowers in diameter are arranged 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 clusters slightly shorter than the leaves. Each flower has four triangular sepals about long and four

s about long which are hairy only on their lower surface. The four

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s are tipped with orange-red anthers which have a small appendage. Flowering occurs from September to October and is followed by fruit which is a warty, four-chambered capsule about wide.

Taxonomy and naming

''Zieria formosa'' was first formally described in 2002 by John Briggs and James Andrew Armstrong from a specimen collected west of

Pambula Pambula is a town in Bega Valley Shire on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia south of Sydney via the Princes Highway. At the , Pambula had a population of 970 people. History The area was populated by the Thaua Aboriginal peo ...

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 ...

(''formosa'') is a Latin word meaning "beautifully formed" or "handsome".

Distribution and habitat

The shapely zieria is only known from a single population of about 40 adult plants and a larger number of small plants in an area of about of heath on

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The mineral ...

rock across three private properties.

Conservation

This zieria is listed as "Critically Endangered" under the New South Wales ''Threatened Species Conservation Act'' and as "Endangered" under the Commonwealth Government '' Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (EPBC) Act. The main threats to the species are changes to agricultural practices and trampling by livestock.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18081869

formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...

Sapindales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 2002