''Zieria littoralis'', commonly known as dwarf zieria is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to south-eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is an erect or spreading shrub with velvety, three-part, clover-like leaves and clusters of up to thirty white or 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 and 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. It grows on exposed, rocky coastal headlands.

Description

''Zieria littoralis'' is an erect or spreading shrub which grows to a height of . Its branches are covered with velvety hairs, at least when young. The leaves are also velvety and are composed of three egg-shaped leaflets with a petiole long. The central leaflet is long, wide. Both surfaces of the leaflets are warty and covered with velvety hairs but the upper surface is a darker green than the lower one. The edges of the leaflets are rolled under. The flowers are arranged in clusters of between three and thirty 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 usually shorter than the leaves. The sepals are triangular, about long and covered with woolly hairs. The four

s are white to pale pink, long and hairy on the outer surface, glabrous on the inner one. There are four stamens. Flowering occurs from winter to early summer and is followed by fruit which are hairy capsules.

Taxonomy and naming

''Zieria littoralis'' was first formally described in 2002 by James Armstrong from a specimen collected near the

Green Cape Green Cape is a locality situated on the eponymous headland or cape on the far south coast of New South Wales. It is located at 37° 15' S 150° 03' E, within Beowa National Park, south of Eden, New South Wales. The headland forms the northern ...

lighthouse 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 ...

(''littoralis'') is a Latin word meaning "of the seashore".

Distribution and habitat

This zieria grows on exposed, rocky coastal headlands south from Tathra in New South Wales, on the far north east coast of Victoria, on Gabo Island and on the central east coast of Tasmania.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q18081567 littoralis Sapindales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state) Flora of Tasmania Plants described in 2002