Boronia foetida | |
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Species: | B. foetida |
Binomial name | |
Boronia foetida | |
Occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium |
Boronia foetida is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in Queensland. It is an erect shrub with hairy branches, simple leaves and pink to white, four-petalled flowers usually arranged singly in leaf axils. The leaves have an unpleasant smell when crushed.
Family is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy; it is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as being the "walnut family".
The Rutaceae are a family, commonly known as the rue or citrus family, of flowering plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.
Endemism is the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. The extreme opposite of endemism is cosmopolitan distribution. An alternative term for a species that is endemic is precinctive, which applies to species that are restricted to a defined geographical area.
Boronia foetida is an erect shrub with many hairy branches that grows to a height of about 2 m (7 ft). It has simple, elliptic leaves that are 20–52 mm (0.8–2 in) long and 7–14 mm (0.3–0.6 in) wide on a petiole 2–7 mm (0.08–0.3 in) long. The upper surface of the leaf sometimes has a few hairs along the midline. The leaves give off an unpleasant smell when crushed. The flowers are pink to white and are arranged singly in leaf axils on a pedicel 2–2.5 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long. The four sepals are pointed, 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long and 1.5–3 mm (0.06–0.1 in) wide. The four petals are 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) long but lengthen to about 8 mm (0.31 in) as the fruit develops. The eight stamens are hairy with a large anther and the style is glabrous. Flowering occurs from May to September and the fruit is a glabrous capsule. [2] [3]
In botany, the petiole is the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole in some species are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile or epetiolate.
A pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as pedicellate.
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms. Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom. The term sepalum was coined by Noël Martin Joseph de Necker in 1790, and derived from the Greek σκέπη, a covering.
Boronia foetida was first formally described in 1999 by Marco F. Duretto who published the description in the journal Austrobaileya from a specimen collected near Biggenden. [4] [2] The specific epithet (foetida) is a Latin word meaning "stinking" [5] referring to the unpleasant odour of the leaves when crushed, producing a smell reported as "reminiscent of a dead possum". [2]
Biggenden is a rural town and locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Biggenden had a population of 845 people.
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP). The code of nomenclature covers "all organisms traditionally treated as algae, fungi, or plants, whether fossil or non-fossil, including blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria), chytrids, oomycetes, slime moulds and photosynthetic protists with their taxonomically related non-photosynthetic groups ."
Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets and ultimately from the Phoenician alphabet.
This boronia grows in a range of habitats including mountain heath and densely forested gullies. It is only known from Mount Walsh near Biggenden. [2]
This boronia is classified as "least concern" by the Queensland Government Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. [6]
The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection is a department of the Queensland Government which is responsible for protecting the state's natural environment and historic buildings. The minister responsible for the department is Steven Miles. The department's head office is at 400 George Street in the Brisbane CBD.
Zieria cephalophila is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is only found on a single, isolated mountain in Queensland. It is a compact shrub with wiry branches, warty, three-part leaves and one to three white flowers, each with four petals and four stamens, in leaf axils.
Zieria eungellaensis is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is only found on a few isolated mountains in Queensland. It is a compact but open shrub with wiry branches, three-part leaves and flowers in small groups, each flower white or pink with four petals and four stamens, and is endemic to the Eungella National Park.
Zieria exsul is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic in a small area of south-east Queensland. It is an open, straggly shrub with hairy branches, three-part leaves and white flowers in groups of up to twelve, the groups longer than the leaves and each flower with four petals and four stamens.
Zieria graniticola is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is a dense, compact shrub with erect wiry branches, three-part leaves and pale pink flowers in groups of up to three, each with four petals and four stamens. It is only known from two population near Stanthorpe in Queensland, Australia.
Boronia duiganiae is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to mountain ranges in south-east Queensland, Australia. It is an erect shrub with many branches, leaves with one, three or five leaflets, and pink to white, four-petalled flowers.
Boronia forsteri is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to mountain ranges in central Queensland, Australia. It is an erect shrub with many branches, simple leaves with a densely hairy, pale underside, and pink, four-petalled flowers.
Boronia glabra, commonly known as sandstone boronia, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect or weak shrub with many branches, mostly glabrous leaves with a slightly paler underside, and bright pink, four-petalled flowers arranged singly in leaf axils.
Boronia occidentalis, commonly known as the rock boronia, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect, woody shrub with pinnate or bipinnate leaves and groups of up to three white to pale pink, pink four-petalled flowers arranged in leaf axils.
Boronia odorata is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to the central highlands of Queensland, Australia. It is an erect shrub with many branches, mostly simple leaves and pink to white, four-petalled flowers.
Boronia rosmarinifolia, commonly known as the forest rose, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub with many branches, simple leaves and pale to bright pink flowers arranged singly in leaf axils.
Boronia excelsa is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in Far North Queensland. It is an erect shrub with woolly-hairy branches, simple, stalkless, more or less hairless leaves, and pink to white, four-petalled flowers.
Boronia hoipolloi is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in Queensland. It is an erect or pendulous shrub with pinnate leaves and pink, four-petalled flowers. It is only known from a few collections near Mount Isa.
Boronia jensziae, commonly known as Andy Jensz's boronia or Hinchinbrook boronia, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to Hinchinbrook Island in Queensland. It is an erect, densely branched shrub with simple leaves and pink to white, four-petalled flowers usually arranged singly in leaf axils.
Boronia 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.
Boronia nematophylla is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with thin, simple leaves and pale red to purple, four-petalled flowers arranged singly or in small groups in leaf axils.
Boronia palasepala is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small part of Queensland, Australia. It is an erect, rounded shrub with many branches, simple leaves and pink to white, four-petalled flowers.
Boronia parviflora, commonly known as the swamp boronia, small boronia, tiny boronia, or small-flowered boronia, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic south-eastern Australia. It is a weak, low shrub with elliptic to egg-shaped leaves with finely toothed edges and up to three pink, white or green four-petalled flowers arranged at or near the ends of the stems.
Boronia polygalifolia, commonly known as dwarf boronia, milkwort-leaved boronia or milkwort boronia, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic in eastern Australia. It is a low-lying shrub with simple leaves and white or pink flowers arranged singly or in groups of up to three in leaf axils.
Boronia ruppii, commonly known as Rupp's boronia, is a species of plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in New South Wales. It is a shrub with hairy branches, simple and trifoliate leaves and pink, four-petalled flowers in the leaf axils. It only grows around the abandoned Woodsreef asbestos mine.
Boronia splendida is a species of plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic in Queensland, Australia. It is an erect shrub with most parts covered with star-like hairs and has simple, linear to narrow elliptic leaves, and pink to white, four-petalled flowers.