Photo: Geoff Derrin, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Tree Zieria

Zieria arborescens

Also known as Stinkwood, Zieria

At a glance

Family

Rutaceae (the citrus family)

Type

Evergreen native shrub or small tree

Parts used

None established for ingestion; foliage noted historically only for its strong aroma

Size

Shrub to small tree, roughly 2 to 6 meters (rarely to 8 meters)

Bloom

Spring to summer (September to December in its native range), with small white to pale pink flowers

Habitat

Wet sclerophyll forest, rainforest margins, and stream banks of southeastern Australia (Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and Tasmania)

Acquisition

Grow

This plant in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Fast, reliable shade cover

Attracts native pollinators

Suits damp, shady banks

Low-fuss native shrub

Traditional uses

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Tree Zieria has no documented history of internal or medicinal use, either among Aboriginal communities or in colonial-era herbals, and it is best appreciated today as it always has been: as a hardy, aromatic native of Australia's eastern forests. Early botanists and bushwalkers came to know it by nose before they knew it by name, since brushing past its foliage releases a strong, resinous scent that gave rise to the common name 'stinkwood.' In modern bush regeneration and native gardening, it has earned a quiet reputation as a reliable, fast-establishing shrub for shady, damp corners where little else will thrive.

How to grow & use it

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✦Remedies & preparations
✦ Growing guide
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Choose it when

“For the damp, shaded corner of the garden that wants a hardy native leafy backdrop, not a cure.”

Did you know?

The genus Zieria was named in 1798 by the botanist James Edward Smith in honor of Johann Baptist Zier, an Austrian gardener, even though Zier almost certainly never laid eyes on the Australian shrub that would go on to carry his name.

Safety

Tree Zieria has no established history as a food or medicine and should not be ingested. Its crushed foliage contains strong volatile oils that can irritate skin or airways in sensitive people.