Boronia exilis

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Boronia exilis
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. exilis
Binomial name
Boronia exilis

Boronia exilis is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a slender, erect perennial with well-spaced, simple, more or less cylindrical leaves and pink, four-petalled flowers in groups of between three and nine on the ends of the branches.

Contents

Description

Boronia exilis is an erect perennial with slender stems that grows to a height of about 1 m (3 ft) and has many slender, glabrous branches. The leaves are simple, more or less cylindrical 10–15 mm (0.4–0.6 in) long and fall off early so that there are few leaves on the lower part of the stems. The flowers are pink and are borne in groups of between three and nine, each on a pedicel 5–12 mm (0.2–0.5 in) long with hairy bracts at the base that fall off as the flower develops. The four sepals are dark red, hairy on both sides and about 4 mm (0.16 in) long. The four petals are pink, oblong to elliptic and about 7 mm (0.3 in) long and the eight stamens are hairy. [2] [3]

Taxonomy and naming

Boronia exilis was first formally described in 1998 by Paul G. Wilson and the description was published in Nuytsia from a specimen collected in the Scott National Park. [2] [4] The specific epithet (exilis) is a Latin word meaning "thin" or "slender". [5] referring to the stems of this boronia. [2]

Distribution and habitat

This boronia grows is only known from the Scott River area where it grows in seasonally wet heath. [2] [3]

Conservation

Boronia exilis is classified as "endangered" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and as "Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" by the Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia). An interim recovery plan has been prepared. The main threats to the species include inappropriate fire regimes, disease caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi and road maintenance activities. [3] [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

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

Boronia molloyae, commonly called the tall boronia, is a plant in the citrus family that is endemic to coastal regions in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with pinnate leaves that mostly have between three and seven leaflets, and deep rose pink, four-petalled flowers. It usually grows along streams in sandy soil.

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

Cyanothamnus baeckeaceus is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a slender or straggling shrub with simple or trifoliate leaves and pink and white four-petalled flowers. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.

<i>Cyanothamnus coerulescens</i> Species of plant

Cyanothamnus coerulescens, commonly known as blue boronia, is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to southern Australia. It is a small, spindly shrub with glandular stems, small, more or less cylindrical leaves and blue to pinkish mauve, four-petalled flowers. There are two subspecies endemic to Western Australia and a third that also occurs in three eastern states.

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

Boronia anceps is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a perennial herb with small leaves and pink, four-petalled flowers.

Boronia barrettiorum is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is only known from two populations growing north of the Prince Regent River in the Kimberley Australia region of Western Australia. It is an erect, open shrub with hairy branches and leaves, simple or trifoliate leaves and white, four-petalled flowers.

Boronia coriacea is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub with pinnate leaves and hairless pink, four-petalled flowers in small clusters on the ends of the branches.

Boronia corynophylla is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub with thin, simple, cylindrical to narrow club-shaped leaves and pale red, four-petalled flowers in groups of up to three on the ends of the branches.

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

Boronia capitata, commonly known as the cluster boronia, is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a slender, spreading shrub with simple leaves and pink, four-petalled flowers.

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

Cyanothamnus bussellianus is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a slender perennial herb or shrub with well-spaced, simple leaves and pink, blue or white, four-petalled flowers.

<i>Boronia dichotoma</i> Species of plant

Boronia dichotoma is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, slender perennial herb or shrub with simple leaves and pink, four-petalled flowers. The species is characterised by sticky glandular hairs on the pedicels.

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

Boronia humifusa is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low-growing, mostly hairless, wiry perennial with four-angled branches, simple, flat leaves and pink or red, four-petalled flowers in groups on the ends of the branches.

Boronia interrex, commonly known as the Regent River boronia, 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, sometimes low-lying shrub with pinnate leaves, cream-coloured to pale pink sepals and pink petals, the sepals longer and wider than the 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.

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

Boronia pauciflora is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub usually with simple leaves and white to pink, four-petalled flowers.

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

Boronia revoluta, commonly known as Ironcap boronia, is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with three-part leaves and pink or white, four-petalled flowers.

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

Boronia stricta is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to near-coastal areas of the south-west of Western Australia. It is a slender shrub with often crowded pinnate leaves with linear leaflets, and pink, four-petalled flowers borne singly or in groups of two or three in leaf axils.

Boronia tetragona is a species of plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae, and is endemic to a small area of the southwest of Western Australia. It is an erect, glabrous, perennial herb with simple, sessile leaves and pink, four-petalled flowers.

Boronia thedae, commonly known as the Theda boronia, 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 when young, later a prostrate shrub with many branches, pinnate leaves, four white to cream-coloured or pale pink sepals and four similarly coloured petals, the sepals longer and wider than the petals.

<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.

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

Boronia virgata is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south coast of Western Australia. It is a virgate shrub with pinnate leaves with between three and five leaflets, and flowers with red sepals and deep pink, egg-shaped petals.

References

  1. "Boronia exilis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Wilson, Paul G. (1998). "New names and new taxa in the genus Boronia (Rutaceae) from Western Australia, with notes on seed characters". Nuytsia. 12 (1): 134–136. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 "Boronia exilis". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  4. "Boronia exilis". APNI. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  5. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 625.
  6. "Conservation Advice Boronia exilis Scott River boronia" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  7. Evans, Rebecca; Stack, Gillian; English, Val. "Scott River boronia (Boronia exilis) Interim recovery plan" (PDF). Western Australian Government Department of Conservation and Land Management. Retrieved 10 March 2019.