Boronia citrata

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Lemon boronia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Boronia
Species:
B. citrata
Binomial name
Boronia citrata

Boronia citrata, commonly known as lemon boronia, [2] is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to Victoria. It is an erect, woody shrub with pinnate, strongly lemon-scented leaves and pale pink to rosy pink, four-petalled flowers arranged in groups of up to five.

Contents

Description

Boronia citrata is an erect, woody shrub that grows to a height of 0.8 m (3 ft) or higher with tiny, stiff hairs on its leaves and branches. The leaves are pinnate, 6–22 mm (0.24–0.87 in) long and 6–20 mm (0.24–0.79 in) wide in outline and with between five and eleven leaflets. The petiole is 1.5–3.5 mm (0.059–0.14 in) long. The end leaflet is narrow egg-shaped, 1–7 mm (0.039–0.28 in) long and 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) wide and the side leaflets are longer, 3–10 mm (0.12–0.39 in) long and 1–3 mm (0.039–0.12 in) wide. The flowers are pale pink to rosy pink, and arranged singly or in groups of up to five in leaf axils or on the end of the branches. Each flower has a pedicel up to 5 mm (0.2 in) long. The four sepals are more or less triangular, 1–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) long and 1 mm (0.039 in) wide and the four petals are 4–6.5 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long with their bases overlapping. The eight stamens are hairy but the style is smooth. Flowering occurs from April to July and the fruit are 3–3.5 mm (0.12–0.14 in) long and 1.5–2 mm (0.059–0.079 in) wide and hairy. [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy and naming

Boronia citrata was first formally described in 1993 by Neville Grant Walsh and the description was published in Muelleria from a specimen collected near Licola. [4] [5] The specific epithet (citrata) is derived from the Latin word citratus meaning "lemon-like", referring to the lemon scent of this species. Boronia citriodora is also known as "lemon boronia" but is endemic to New South Wales. [4]

Distribution and habitat

This boronia grows in subalpine mallee and heath. Populations from the upper catchment of the Macalister River, north and east of Licola grow in subalpine heath on shallow soils. Populations in the Yarra River catchment east of Warburton are found in peppermint woodland. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Boronia pinnata</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia pinnata is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae, and is endemic to New South Wales. It is an erect, woody shrub with pinnate leaves and groups of between three and forty pink flowers arranged in leaf axils. It flowers in spring and early summer and is found in coastal areas between Ballina and Jervis Bay.

<i>Boronia muelleri</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia muelleri, commonly known as the forest boronia or pink boronia, is a flowering plant that occurs in forest, woodland and heath in Victoria and New South Wales in Australia. It is an erect, woody shrub or small tree with pinnate leaves and up to fifteen pink to white four-petalled flowers arranged in leaf axils in spring and summer.

<i>Boronia algida</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia algida, commonly known as alpine boronia, is a flowering plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is an erect shrub with many branches, pinnate leaves and white to bright pink, four-petalled flowers usually borne singly on the ends of branches.

<i>Boronia safrolifera</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia safrolifera, commonly known as safrole boronia, is a species of flowering plant that is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect, woody shrub with pinnate leaves that have up to nineteen leaflets, and white to pink, four-petalled flowers.

<i>Cyanothamnus anemonifolius</i> Species of flowering plant

Cyanothamnus anemonifolius, commonly known as narrow-leaved boronia or sticky boronia, is a flowering plant that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a shrub with mostly pinnate leaves, with white to pale pink four-petalled flowers in leaf axils.

<i>Boronia citriodora</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia citriodora, commonly known as lemon-scented boronia, lemon plant or lemon thyme, is a woody shrub that is endemic to Tasmania. It has pinnate leaves and white to pink flowers that are arranged singly or in groups of up to seven, in the leaf axils or on the ends of the branches.

<i>Boronia pilosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia pilosa, commonly known as the hairy boronia, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is an erect, woody shrub with hairy branches, pinnate, sometimes hairy leaves and groups of up to ten white to pink, four petalled flowers.

<i>Boronia warrumbunglensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia warrumbunglensis is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in the central west of New South Wales. It is a shrub with many branches, pinnate leaves and one or two pink, four-petalled flowers in the leaf axils. It is only known from the Warrumbungles and nearby districts.

<i>Boronia angustisepala</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia angustisepala is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to New South Wales, Australia. It is an erect shrub with many branches, pinnate leaves with up to eleven leaflets, and bright pink, four-petalled flowers.

<i>Boronia bowmanii</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia bowmanii is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is an erect shrub with pinnate leaves and four-petalled flowers.

<i>Boronia filicifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia filicifolia is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the far north-west of Australia. It is an erect or sprawling shrub with many branches, pinnate leaves with up to 55 leaflets and white to pink flowers with the sepals a similar length to the petals.

<i>Boronia galbraithiae</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia galbraithiae, commonly known as the aniseed boronia or Galbraith's boronia, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in Victoria. It is an erect, woody, fennel-scented, hairless shrub with pinnate leaves and white to deep pink, four-petalled flowers arranged in groups in the leaf axils.

<i>Cyanothamnus inflexus</i> Species of flowering plant

Cyanothamnus inflexus is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to tablelands near the New South Wales - Queensland border in Australia. It is an erect, woody shrub with pinnate leaves and up to seven white to pink four-petalled flowers in the leaf axils. Boronia bipinnata is similar but has larger, bipinnate or tripinnate leaves and smaller sepals and petals.

Boronia minutipinna is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with many branches, hairy stems and leaves, pinnate leaves and white to pink, four-petalled flowers with the sepals longer and wider than the petals.

Cyanothamnus montimulliganensis is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a single mountain in Queensland. It is an erect, woody shrub with pinnate or bipinnate leaves and white, four-petalled flowers usually arranged singly in leaf axils.

<i>Boronia quinkanensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia quinkanensis is a species of plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small part of Queensland, Australia. It is an erect shrub with most parts covered with star-like hairs and has pinnate leaves with up to eleven leaflets, and pink to white, four-petalled flowers.

Boronia rozefeldsii, commonly known as Schouten Island boronia, is a species of plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small Tasmanian island. It is an erect, woody shrub with pinnate leaves and pink, four-petalled flowers. It is similar to B. pilosa which grows on the same island, but has larger petals and fewer hairs on the leaflets.

<i>Boronia squamipetala</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia squamipetala is a species of plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae, and is endemic to Queensland, Australia. It is an erect shrub with pinnate leaves with between five and thirteen elliptic leaflets, and green to white, four-petalled flowers with hairy backs.

<i>Boronia wilsonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia wilsonii is an erect shrub that is endemic to northern Australia. Its branches, leaves and backs of the flowers are densely covered with woolly hairs. The petals are white to pink or burgundy-coloured.

Cyanothamnus yarrowmerensis is a species of erect, woody shrub that is endemic to Queensland. It has pinnate or bipinnate leaves and groups of up to seven flowers with white petals in leaf axils.

References

  1. "Boronia citrata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 Duretto, Marco F. (2003). "Notes on Boronia (Rutaceae) in eastern and northern Australia". Muelleria. 17: 83–84. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  3. 1 2 Duretto, Marco F. "Boronia citrata". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 Walsh, Neville G. (1993). "Two new species of Boronia (Rutaceae) endemic in Victoria". Muelleria. 8 (1): 21–24. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  5. "Boronia citrata". APNI. Retrieved 27 February 2019.