''Zieria involucrata'' is a plant in the citrus

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in BoDD – Botanical Derm ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It is a sparse, erect shrub with mostly three-part leaves and groups of up to 21 small white flowers, the groups shorter than the leaves. It mostly occurs in the lower Blue Mountains, but is also known from other areas around

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Description

''Zieria involucrata '' is a sparse, erect shrub that grows to a height of with its branches and leaves densely covered with soft, velvety leaves. The leaves have a petiole long and are mostly composed of three elliptic to lance-shaped leaflets long and wide, although some leaves may have only one leaflet. The leaflets are more or less flat, dark green on the upper surface and light greyish-green below. The flowers are white, sometimes with a pink tinge and arranged in groups of between three and 21, the groups mostly shorter than the leaves. Hairy, leaf-like

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s surround the flowers and usually remain on the plant during flowering and are long. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s are triangular, long and the four petals are about long and slightly hairy. There are 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. Flowering occurs from August to October and is followed by fruits that are hairy follicles.

Taxonomy and naming

''Zieria involucrata'' was first formally described in 1863 by

George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studi ...

from an unpublished description by Robert Brown. Bentham's description was published in ''

Flora Australiensis ''Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory'', more commonly referred to as ''Flora Australiensis'', and also known by its standard abbreviation ''Fl. Austral.'', is a seven-volume flora of Australia published be ...

''. 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 ...

(''involucrata'') is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''involucrum'' meaning "wrapper", "case" or "envelope", referring to the persistent bracts.

Distribution and habitat

This zieria grows in wet forest, mainly in the lower Blue Mountains but has also been recorded from north and west of Sydney.

Conservation

''Zieria involucrata'' is classified as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government ''

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...

'' and as "endangered" under the New South Wales Government Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. The main threat to the species is inappropriate fire regimes, especially frequent fires.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18084047 involucrata Sapindales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1863