Zieria citriodora

Lemon-scented zieria

The total population of Z. citriodora in NSW 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

Etymology:

The name Zieria honours "John Zier, a Polish botanist, who assisted F.C. Ehrhart in his collection of plants of the Electorate of Hanover, 1780-83, and afterwards worked in London, where he died in 1793"
The specific epithet (citriodora) is derived from the Latin words citrus meaning "citron-tree" and odora meaning "having a fragrant smell"

Flowers:

Small, pale pink or white flowers
The flowers are arranged singly or in groups of up to three in leaf axils, the groups usually much longer than the leaves
The sepals are triangular, about 1.4 mm long and hairy
The four petals are white to pale pink, 4–6 mm 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

Fruit:

Leaves:

The leaves are composed of three leaflets with the central one linear or lance-shaped, 4–5 mm long and 1.5–2 mm wide with a petiole 2–4 mm 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

Stem & branches:

Its branches are dotted with oil glands and covered with short, soft hairs, often becoming glabrous with age

Roots:

Habit:

A low or rounded shrub which grows to 15–20 cm high and 30 cm wide and which often grows from rhizomes

Habitat:

Grows mostly in shallow gravelly or sandy soils on moderately steep slopes in low eucalypt woodland

Distribution:

Endemic to a small area near the border between NSW and Victoria
It is found in scattered populations in New South Wales and Victoria
In NSW, 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 biogeographic region

Additional notes:

Taxonomy

- 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
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

Sources of information:

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