Boronia hemichiton

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Mt Arthur boronia
Boronia hemichiton.jpg
Boronia hemichiton in the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens
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. hemichiton
Binomial name
Boronia hemichiton
Boronia hemichiton DistMap56.png
Occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium

Boronia hemichiton, commonly known as Mt Arthur boronia [2] is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is an erect, woody shrub with compound leaves and pink or white, four-petalled flowers.

Contents

Description

Boronia hemichiton is an erect, woody shrub that grows to about 1.5 m (5 ft) high and has branches with minute, bristle like hairs between the leaf bases and small, blunt glands. The leaves have three, five or seven leaflets and are 9–12 mm (0.4–0.5 in) long and 12–16 mm (0.5–0.6 in) wide in outline on a petiole 1.5–2.5 mm (0.06–0.1 in) long. The end leaflet is 2.5–8 mm (0.1–0.3 in) long and 0.5–1 mm (0.02–0.04 in) wide and the side leaflet are similar but longer. The flowers are pink, sometimes white and are arranged singly or in groups of up to three in leaf axils, the groups on a peduncle 1–2 mm (0.04–0.08 in) long. The four sepals are narrow triangular, 0.5–1.5 mm (0.02–0.06 in) long and about 0.5 mm (0.02 in) wide. The four petals are narrow egg-shaped with a pointed tip, 4.5–5.5 mm (0.2–0.2 in) long, 1.2–3 mm (0.05–0.1 in) wide and hairy on the outside. Flowering occurs from October to January and the fruit is a glabrous capsule 2.5–3 mm (0.1–0.1 in) long and 1.5–2 mm (0.06–0.08 in) wide. [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy and naming

Boronia hemichiton was first formally described in 2003 by Marco F. Duretto who published the description in Muelleria from a specimen collected on Mount Arthur. [5] [3] The specific epithet (hemichiton) is derived from the Ancient Greek prefix hemi- meaning "half" [6] :392 and chiton meaning "tunic" or "garment worn next to the skin", [6] :362 referring to the leaves which are only hairy near the base. [3]

Distribution and habitat

The Mt Arthur boronia grows in the wet heath or scrub. It is only known from two subpopulations on Mt Arthur. [2] [4]

Conservation

Boronia hemichiton is listed as "vulnerable" under the Commonwealth Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) Act and as "endangered" under the Tasmanian Government Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 .The main threats to the species are dieback caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi , inappropriate fire regimes and changes in water flow. [4]

Related Research Articles

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

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

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

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

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

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

Boronia rivularis, commonly known as the Wide Bay boronia, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to the Wide Bay–Burnett area of eastern Queensland. It is an erect, woody shrub with pinnate leaves and white to pink, four-petalled flowers.

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

Boronia subulifolia is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in south-eastern New South Wales in Australia. It is an erect, woody shrub with pinnate leaves with mostly linear leaflets, and light to deep pink, four-petalled flowers in the leaf axils or on the ends of the branches.

Boronia citrata, commonly known as lemon boronia, 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.

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

Boronia elisabethiae is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a semi-erect or weakly spreading, woody shrub with pinnate leaves and white to pink, four-petalled flowers.

<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.

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>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.

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 rubiginosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia rubiginosa is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to New South Wales in Australia. It is a shrub with pinnate leaves that are paler on the lower surface, and up to three pale to bright pink, four-petalled flowers in the leaf axils.

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

Cyanothamnus warangensis is a species of erect, woody shrub that is endemic to Queensland. It has bipinnate leaves and groups of between five and twenty-five or more white flowers in leaf axils.

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 hemichiton". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "Boronia hemichiton" (PDF). Tasmanian Government Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Duretto, Marco F. (2003). "Notes on Boronia (Rutaceae) in eastern and northern Australia" (PDF). Muelleria. 17: 87–88. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 "Approved Conservation Advice for Boronia hemichiton (Mt Arthur Boronia)" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  5. "Boronia hemichiton". APNI. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  6. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.