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Boronia octandra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Boronia octandra
Boronia octandra in the Nuytsland Nature Reserve
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Boronia
Species:
B. octandra
Binomial name
Boronia octandra
Occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium

Boronia octandra is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub with three-part leaves and greenish cream to reddish brown, four-petalled flowers.

Description

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Boronia octandra is a shrub that grows to a height of 30 cm (12 in) with its young stems covered with short, soft hairs. The leaves are trifoliate and each leaflet is more or less cylindrical to club-shaped and about 5 mm (0.20 in) long. The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils and are greenish cream to yellowish brown on a top-shaped pedicel about 2 mm (0.079 in) long. The four sepals are egg-shaped, about 3 mm (0.1 in) long and the four petals are broadly elliptic and about 8 mm (0.3 in) long. The eight stamens are all fertile and alternate in length with those adjacent to the petals shorter than those adjacent to the sepals. Flowering occurs from June to October.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

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Boronia octandra was first formally described in 1971 by Paul Wilson and the description was published in Nuytsia from a specimen he collected west of Ravensthorpe.[4][2] The specific epithet (octandra) mean "eight male", referring to the stamens.[5]

Distribution and habitat

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This boronia grows on undulating plains and breakaways in sandy soil. It is found between Gnowangerup and the West River in the Esperance Plains, Hampton and Mallee biogeographic regions.[2][3]

Conservation status

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Boronia octandra is classified as "not threatened" by the Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia).[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Boronia octandra". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Wilson, Paul G. (1971). "Taxonomic notes on the family Rutaceae, principally of Western Australia". Nuytsia. 1 (2): 199–200. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Boronia octandra". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  4. ^ "Boronia octandra". APNI. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  5. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 264. ISBN 9780958034180.