The Bomaderry Zieria is a many-branched to somewhat straggly shrub which grows to an average height of 76 cm. Plants are generally clonal, with several stems emerging from a common rootstock. Leaves are opposite, small, and comprised of three leaflets, with both surfaces covered with a dense velvety layer of mostly stellate hairs. The central leaflet is 6-18 mm long and 4-12 mm wide, whilst the secondary leaflets are similar in shape but slightly smaller. Flowers are produced from August to October. The flowers are about 8 mm across, white to pinkish, with four broad lanceolate petals, arranged in small 3-7 flowered clusters arising from the leaf axils on a common stalk up to 10 mm long. Four large, green, leaf-like bracts surround each flower cluster. Fruit has never been recorded.
Bomaderry Zieria |
Zieria baeuerlenii
Status: Endangered on the EPBC Act list
Bomaderry Creek Zieria
Government evidence of impact of climate change:
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Australian Government, Conservation Advice, Zieria baeuerlenii
The main factors that make the species eligible for listing in the Endangered category are restricted distribution; small population and continuing decline due to climate change; invasive species and habitat loss.
Threats The Bomaderry Zieria is threatened by climate change; invasive species; habitat loss; disturbance or modification and disease (Table 1).
Threat Status and severity a Evidence Climate change Increased Timing current The Bomaderry Zieria can resprout after fires and severity frequency of Confidence known fires may be required to trigger clonal bushfire regeneration (Barratt 2007).
This type of event is increasingly likely to reoccur due to climate change.
Such Trend increasing changes in climate may cause widespread plant Extent across the entire mortality in forest ecosystems; as many plants are range vulnerable to drought stress and hydraulic failure (Allen et al. 2010 Choat et al. 2012).
The planting site was impacted by a bushfire in August 2018 and only 16 percent of the 316 translocants were alive as of February 2021 noting that two months prior to the fire; 70 percent of the translocants were alive (DPIE 2021).
The species is threatened by several fire related threats; including high frequency fire; fire drought interactions and fire promoted weed invasion.
The species Consequence major responds favourably to fire events if there is good Trend increasing follow up rain (Barratt 1997 1999 2007 2014 Extent across the entire 2017).
Fire severity varied across the bushfire extent; with many patches burning at extreme severity while others remained unburnt (DPIE 2020).
In Trend unknown particular; grassy weeds can increase fuel load Extent across part of its and alter fire regimes (Milberg Lamont 1995 range Setterfield et al. 2013).
These altered fire regimes can create conditions that are detrimental to the maintenance of native species and favourable to the establishment and spread of weeds (D’Antonio Vitousek 1992 Grigulis et al. 2005).
The impacts of grazing may have increased as an initial post fire response following the 2019 20 bushfires (Barratt 2019).
The species is threatened by several fire related threats; including high frequency fire; fire drought interactions and fire promoted weed invasion.