Boronia capitata
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cluster boronia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Boronia capitata near Quairading | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Rutaceae |
| Genus: | Boronia |
| Species: | B. capitata |
| Binomial name | |
| Boronia capitata | |
 | |
| Occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium | |
Boronia capitata, commonly known as the cluster boronia,[2] is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a slender, spreading shrub with simple leaves and pink, four-petalled flowers.
Boronia capitata is a slender, spreading shrub that grows to a height of 15–130 cm (6–50 in). It has simple, thick, linear to club-shaped leaves 4–15 mm (0.2–0.6 in) long. The flowers are pink and are arranged in clusters on the ends of the branches, each on a pedicel 1–3 mm (0.04–0.1 in) long. The four sepals are broadly elliptic to narrow triangular, and the four petals are broadly elliptic, about 6 mm (0.2 in) long.[2][3][4][5]
Taxonomy and naming
Boronia capitata was first formally described in 1863 by George Bentham and the description was published in Flora Australiensis from a specimen collected by James Drummond.[4][6] The specific epithet (capitata) is a Latin word meaning "having a head".[7]
In 1971, Paul G. Wilson described three subspecies:[8]
- Boronia capitata subsp. capitata has leaves and sepals that are glabrous or fringed with hairs and flowers from September to October;[9]
- Boronia capitata subsp. clavata has thick leaves covered with long, soft hairs, and broadly elliptic sepals fringed with hairs and flowers from April to October;[10]
- Boronia capitata subsp. gracilis slender leaves covered with long, soft hairs and narrow egg-shaped sepals with a hairy fringe and flowers from June to November.[11]