Boronia molloyae

Boronia molloyae, commonly called the tall boronia,[2] is a plant in the citrus family that is endemic to coastal regions in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with pinnate leaves that mostly have between three and seven leaflets, and deep rose pink, four-petalled flowers. It usually grows along streams in sandy soil.

Tall boronia
Boronia molloyae in the ANBG
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Boronia
Species:
B. molloyae
Binomial name
Boronia molloyae
Occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium
Synonyms[1]
  • Boronia elatior Bartl.
  • Boronia molloyi J.Drumm. orth. var.
  • Boronia semifertilis F.Muell.

Description

Boronia molloyae is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 3 m (9.8 ft) and has hairy branches. The leaves are pinnate with mostly between three and seven narrow elliptic leaflets 10–50 mm (0.39–1.97 in) long. The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils on a thin pedicel 4–11 mm (0.16–0.43 in) long and with a top-shaped tip. The four sepals are more or less round, papery, hairy and about 8 mm (0.31 in) long. The four petals are deep rose pink, broadly elliptic and about 8 mm (0.31 in) long. There are eight stamens, with the four nearest the sepals sterile and longer than those near the petals. The stigma is sessile, pyramid-shaped and about 3 mm (0.12 in) high. Flowering occurs from September to December.[3]

Taxonomy and naming

In 1843, James Drummond published a description of a plant he called Boronia molloyi in the London Journal of Botany. He named it "after the lady of Capt. Molloy" (John Molloy) but did not provide a Latin diagnosis. The same species was given the name Boronia elatior by Friedrich Gottlieb Bartling in 1844 and B. semifertilis by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1861. In 1998 Paul G. Wilson used the name Boronia molloyae, an orthographic variant of Drummond's name, and chose Bartling's specimen as the lectotype. The specific epithet (molloyae) honours Georgiana Molloy.[4][5][6]

Distribution and habitat

Tall boronia grows in sandy soils along watercourses and near swamps between Gingin and Albany in the Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren biogeographic regions.[2][3]

Conservation

Boronia molloyae is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.[2]

References
  1. "Boronia molloyae". APC. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  2. "Boronia molloyae". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  3. Duretto, Marco F.; Wilson, Paul G.; Ladiges, Pauline Y. "Boronia molloyae". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  4. "Boronia molloyae". APNI. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  5. Drummond, James. "Swan River Botany". London Journal of Botany. 2: 169–171. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  6. Wilson, Paul G. (1998). "New names and new taxa in the genus Boronia (Rutaceae) from Western Australia, with notes on seed characters". Nuytsia. 12 (1): 140. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
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