Boronia spathulata

Boronia spathulata is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a glabrous shrub with well-spaced, simple, egg-shaped to elliptic leaves, and pink, four-petalled flowers.

Boronia spathulata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Boronia
Species:
B. spathulata
Binomial name
Boronia spathulata
Occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium

Description

Boronia spathulata is a glabrous shrub that grows to a height of about 1 m (3 ft 3 in) and has well-spaced, narrow elliptic to broadly egg-shaped leaves that are 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) long. Leaves near the ends of the branchlets are usually more or less cylindrical. The flowers are arranged in cymes that have a short peduncle, the individual flowers on a red pedicel that has small bracts at its base. The side flowers have a pedicel 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long. There are four triangular to egg-shaped sepals 2.5–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and four pink, egg-shaped petals 6–9 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long. The eight stamens are hairy with a small white tip on the anther and the stigma is only slightly larger than the style. Flowers are present in most months.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

Boronia spathulata 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.[4][5] The specific epithet (spathulata) is derived from the Latin word spathe meaning "any broad blade, paddle for stirring and mixing".[6]

Distribution and habitat

This boronia grows in sand near swamps or rivers and in jarrah forest. It occurs between Perth and Augusta and east to Israelite Bay.[2][3][7]

Conservation

Boronia spathulata is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.[3]

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References
  1. "Boronia spathulata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  2. Duretto, Marco F.; Wilson, Paul G.; Ladiges, Pauline Y. "Boronia spathulata". Flora of Australia: Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  3. "Boronia spathulata". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  4. "Boronia spathulata". APNI. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  5. Lindley, John (1839). A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony. London: James Ridgway. p. xvii. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 732.
  7. Corrick, Margaret G.; Fuhrer, Bruce A. (2009). Wildflowers of southern Western Australia (3rd ed.). Dural: Rosenberg Publishing. p. 192. ISBN 9781877058844.
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