Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Zieria smithii

Flowering branches. Photographer Jackie Miles

Flowering branches. Photographer Don Wood, Bangalee Reserve near Nowra

Leaf showing oil dots. Photographer Jackie Miles

Common name

Sandfly Zieria, Smithian Zieria, Dr Smith's Zieria

Family

Rutaceae

Where found

Forest, shrubland, rocky areas, and near streams. Coast and ranges. Doubtfully naturalised in the ACT.

Notes

Shrub to 3 m high. Stems slightly ridged when young, prominently glandular warty, more or less hairless to densely stellate hairy (needs a hand lens or a macro app on your phone/tablet to see). Leaves aromatic when rubbed, opposite each other, compound, with 3 leaflets, each 1.8–7.3 cm long, 4–10 mm wide, tips pointed; margins entire, slightly wavy, and more or less curved down, upper surface darker than the lower surface, dotted with oil glands, more or less warty, and hairless except for hairs along midvein furrow, lower surface dotted with oil glands, more or less warty, and either hairless or with scattered stellate hairs; venation evident, especially on the lower surface. Flowers white to pinkish, with 4 petals each 2–4 mm long, and with 4 stamens. Flower clusters usually shorter than the leaves, 7–60-flowered. Flowers all months but mainly Jan.–Sept.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Zieria~smithii  (accessed 12 February, 2021)