Boronia wilsonii

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.

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

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This boronia was first formally described in 1863 by George Bentham from an unpublished description by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name Boronia artemisiifolia var.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]

References
  1. "Boronia wilsonii". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  2. 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. Duretto, Marco F. (1999). "Systematics of Boronia section Valvatae sensu lato (Rutaceae)". Muelleria. 12 (1): 106–107. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  4. 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. "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.
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