Boronia wilsonii

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Boronia wilsonii
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Boronia
Species:
B. wilsonii
Binomial name
Boronia wilsonii
Boronia wilsonii DistMap132.png
Occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium

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.

Contents

Description

Boronia wilsonii is an erect shrub typically growing to a height of 0.3–1.5 mm (0.012–0.059 in). Young plants have a moderately dense covering of woolly, star-shaped hairs on the branches and leaves. Mature plants have a dense covering of woolly, star-shaped hairs on the branches, leaves and backs of the flowers. The leaves are pinnate, 17–34 mm (0.67–1.34 in) long with between thirteen and twenty-three leaflets, each leaflet elliptic to lance-shaped, 1.5–23 mm (0.059–0.906 in) long and 1–6 mm (0.039–0.236 in) wide on a petiole 0.5–7 mm (0.020–0.276 in) long. The flowers are usually borne singly, on a pedicel 2.5–7 mm (0.1–0.3 in) long. The sepals are longer and wider than the petals, egg-shaped to triangular, 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) long, 2–2–4.5 mm (0.08–0.08–0.2 in) wide and densely hairy on their backs. The petals are white to pink or burgundy-coloured, 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long and both the sepals and petals enlarge as the fruit develops. Flowering occurs between January and September and the fruit is a hairy capsule 4.5–6 mm (0.18–0.24 in) long and 2–2.5 mm (0.079–0.098 in) wide. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Taxonomy and naming

This boronia was first formally described in 1863 by George Bentham from an unpublished description by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name Boronia artemisiifolia var. wilsonii and published the description in Flora Australiensis . [6] [7] In 1997, Marco Duretto raised the variety to species status as Boronia wilsonii. [8] The specific epithet (wilsonii) honours an early collector of the species, possibly geologist James Spottiswoode Wilson who participated, along with Mueller, in Augustus Charles Gregory's 1855-1856 expedition to the northern interior. [2]

Distribution and habitat

Boronia wilsonii is common in the Kimberley region and nearby islands where it grows mostly in near-coastal areas in sandy soil over sandstone. There are also a few collections from the lower Victoria River in the Northern Territory. [2] [3] [4]

Conservation status

This species is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife [5] and as "near threatened" under the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2000. [9]

Related Research Articles

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Boronia muelleri, commonly known as the forest boronia or pink boroina, 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 edwardsii</i> Species of plant

Boronia edwardsii, commonly known as island boronia, is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a small, erect shrub with trifoliate leaves and pink or white flowers with four petals and eight stamens. It is common on Kangaroo Island but rare on the mainland.

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

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<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 grandisepala</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia grandisepala is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to northern parts of the Northern Territory. It is an erect shrub with elliptic leaves and white, pink or burgundy-coloured, four-petalled flowers.

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

Boronia jucunda is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to the far north-west of Australia. It is an erect shrub with many branches, pinnate leaves and white, four-petalled flowers. It is only known from a small area in the Kimberley region in Western Australia and in a national park in the Northern Territory.

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

Cyanothamnus rigenss, commonly known as the stiff boronia, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to south-eastern New South Wales in Australia. It is a low, compact shrub with mostly trifoliate, glandular leaves and white to pale pink, four-petalled flowers in the leaf axils.

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

Boronia adamsiana, commonly known as Barbalin boronia, is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, hairy shrub with trifoliate leaves and pink or white, four-petalled flowers.

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

Boronia crassifolia is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, slender shrub with pinnate leaves, and yellowish green to brownish, four petalled flowers.

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

Boronia ericifolia, commonly known as Wongan Hills boronia, is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, densely branched shrub with trifoliate leaves and pink, white or creamy yellow flowers with four petals and eight stamens only known from near Wongan Hills and Moora.

<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>Cyanothamnus inconspicuus</i> Species of plant

Cyanothamnus inconspicuus is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with pinnate leaves and small white or creamy green flowers with four petals and eight stamens and occurs from the Stirling Range to Mount Ragged.

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

Boronia kalumburuensis is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to the Kalumburu area of Western Australia. It is an erect or sprawling shrub with many branches, pinnate leaves and white to pink four-petalled flowers with the sepals longer and wider than the petals.

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

Boronia laxa is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is a low-lying, short-lived shrub with hairy branches, leaves and flower parts, simple leaves and white to mauve flowers with the sepals longer and wider than the petals.

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

Cyanothamnus penicillatus is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low, spreading shrub with pinnate leaves and white flowers with four petals and eight stamens.

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

Boronia rupicola is a species of plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is a small shrub with weeping branches, simple or pinnate leaves and small, green, inconspicuous flowers.

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

Cyanothamnus subsessilis is a species of plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a woody, mostly glabrous shrub with simple leaves and flowers with four petals that are white on the front and green to blue on the back.

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>Asterolasia correifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Asterolasia correifolia is a species of erect shrub that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has white to brown star-shaped hairs on its stems, lance-shaped to elliptical leaves densely covered with white star-shaped hairs on the lower surface, and white to cream-coloured or yellow flowers arranged in umbels of four to ten or more in leaf axils, the back of the petals densely covered with white hairs.

References

  1. "Boronia wilsonii". Australian Plant Census . Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Duretto, Marco F. (1997). "Taxonomic notes on Boronia species of north-western Australia, including a revision of the Boronia lanuginosa group (Boronia section Valvatae: Rutaceae)". Nuytsia. 11 (3): 320–323. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  3. 1 2 Duretto, Marco F. (1999). "Systematics of Boronia section Valvatae sensu lato (Rutaceae)". Muelleria. 12 (1): 106–107. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  4. 1 2 Duretto, Marco F.; Wilson, Paul G.; Ladiges, Pauline Y. "Boronia wilsonii". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Boronia wilsonii". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  6. "Boronia artemisiifolia var. wilsonii". APNI. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  7. Bentham, George; von Mueller, Ferdinand (1863). Flora Australiensis. London: Lovell, Reeve and Co. p. 311. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  8. "Boronia wilsonii". APNI. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  9. "Boronia wilsonii". Northern Territory Government - FloraNT. Retrieved 11 March 2020.