Boronia scabra explained

Boronia scabra, commonly known as rough boronia, is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an open shrub with simple, often clustered, oblong to elliptic leaves, and pink, mostly four-petalled flowers.

Description

Boronia scabra is a shrub that grows to a height of about 60sigfig=2NaNsigfig=2 and has branchlets with soft hairs. Its leaves are narrow oblong to elliptic with the edges curved downwards, NaNsigfig=2NaNsigfig=2 long and often clustered. The flowers are arranged in small groups on the ends of the branches, each flower on a pedicel NaNsigfig=2NaNsigfig=2 long. The flowers have four or sometimes five triangular to egg-shaped sepals NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long. There is a similar number of pink, egg-shaped petals NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long. The stamens are swollen at the tip with a small white tip on the anther. The stigma is minute. Flowering occurs from July to December.[1]

Taxonomy and naming

Boronia scabra was first formally described in 1839 by John Lindley and the description was published in A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony.[2] [3] The specific epithet (scabra) is a Latin word meaning "rough", "scurfy" or "scabby".[4]

In 1998, Paul Wilson described three subspecies that are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

Distribution and habitat

Subspecies attenuata grows among granite rocks at Cape Le Grande and on the nearby Recherche Archipelago, subspecies condensata grows near Badgingarra, often in gravel, and subspecies scabra grows in a variety of habitats including jarrah forest and kwongan between Geraldton, Gingin, Woodanilling, the Stirling Range and Cape Arid National Park.[9]

Conservation

Subspecies scabra is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife but subspecies attenuata is classified as "Priority Three", meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat,[10] and subspecies condensata is classified as "Priority Two" meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Duretto . Marco F. . Wilson . Paul G. . Ladiges . Pauline Y. . Boronia scabra . Flora of Australia: Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra . 30 April 2019.
  2. Web site: Boronia scabra. APNI. 7 March 2019.
  3. Book: Lindley . John . A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony . 1839 . James Ridgway . London . xvii . 30 April 2019.
  4. Book: Brown. Roland Wilbur. The Composition of Scientific Words. 1956. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington, D.C.. 670.
  5. Web site: Boronia scabra subsp. attenuata. Australian Plant Census. 30 April 2019.
  6. Wilson . Paul G. . New names and new taxa in the genus Boronia (Rutaceae) from Western Australia, with notes on seed characters . Nuytsia . 1998 . 12 . 1 . 129–131 . 30 April 2019.
  7. Web site: Boronia scabra subsp. condensata. Australian Plant Census. 30 April 2019.
  8. Web site: Boronia scabra subsp. scabra. Australian Plant Census. 30 April 2019.
  9. Book: Corrick . Margaret G. . Fuhrer . Bruce A. . Wildflowers of southern Western Australia . 2009 . Rosenberg Publishing . Dural . 9781877058844 . 192 . 3rd.
  10. Web site: Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna. Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. 30 April 2015.