Boronia foetida

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Boronia foetida
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
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Family:
Genus:
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B. foetida
Binomial name
Boronia foetida
Boronia foetida DistMap46.png
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".

Rutaceae family of plants

The Rutaceae are a family, commonly known as the rue or citrus family, of flowering plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.

Endemism Ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location or habitat

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.

Contents

Description

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]

Petiole (botany)

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.

Pedicel (botany) A structure connecting flowers or fruit to the main stem of a plant

A pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as pedicellate.

Sepal part of a calyx

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.

Taxonomy and naming

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 Town in Queensland, Australia

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.

Botanical name scientific name for a plant (or alga or fungus) (ICNafp)

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 Indo-European language of the Italic family

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.

Distribution and habitat

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]

Conservation

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.

Related Research Articles

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<i>Boronia duiganiae</i> species of plant

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<i>Boronia forsteri</i> species of plant

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.

<i>Boronia glabra</i> species of plant

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.

<i>Boronia occidentalis</i> species of plant

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.

<i>Boronia odorata</i> species of plant

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.

<i>Boronia rosmarinifolia</i> species of plant

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.

<i>Boronia excelsa</i> species of plant

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.

<i>Boronia jensziae</i> species of plant

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.

<i>Boronia nematophylla</i> species of plant

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.

<i>Boronia palasepala</i> species of plant

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.

<i>Boronia parviflora</i> species of plant

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.

<i>Boronia polygalifolia</i> species of plant

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.

<i>Boronia ruppii</i> species of plant

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.

<i>Boronia splendida</i> species of plant

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.

References

  1. "Boronia foetida". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Duretto, Marco F. (1999). "Boronia sect. Valvatae (Benth.) Engl. (Rutaceae) in Queensland Australia". Austrobaileya. 5 (2): 285–287.
  3. Duretto, Marco F.; Wilson, Paul G.; Ladiges, Pauline Y. "Boronia foetida". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  4. "Boronia foetida". APNI. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  5. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 720.
  6. "Boronia foetida". Queensland Government Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. Retrieved 12 March 2019.