Boronia barrettiorum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Boronia barrettiorum |
|
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification |
The Boronia barrettiorum is a special kind of plant. It belongs to the citrus family called Rutaceae. This means it's related to plants like oranges and lemons! You can only find this plant in two places in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of the Prince Regent River. It's an upright, open shrub with fuzzy branches and leaves. Its flowers are white and have four petals.
What it Looks Like
Boronia barrettiorum is an upright, open shrub. It can grow up to about 150 centimeters (or 5 feet) wide. Its stems and leaves are covered in tiny hairs, making them feel a bit fuzzy.
The leaves of this plant are interesting because they can be two different types on the same branch!
- Some leaves are simple, meaning they are just one single leaf blade. These are usually about 1 to 3.3 centimeters long and 0.4 to 1.14 centimeters wide.
- Other leaves are trifoliate, which means they have three smaller leaflets joined together. The middle leaflet is similar in size to the simple leaves. The two side leaflets are a bit smaller, about 0.5 to 1.9 centimeters long and 0.3 to 0.7 centimeters wide.
The flowers of the Boronia barrettiorum are usually found alone or in small groups of up to three. They grow where the leaves meet the stem, which is called a leaf axil. Each flower sits on a small stalk called a pedicel, which can be about 0.5 to 2.5 centimeters long.
Before the petals, there are four small, leaf-like parts called sepals. These sepals are narrow and shaped like an egg or a triangle. They are about 0.25 to 0.4 centimeters long and 0.1 to 0.15 centimeters wide, and they are also hairy. The four white petals are about 0.25 to 0.35 centimeters long and 0.1 to 0.15 centimeters wide, and they are hairy too.
After the flower blooms, it produces a fruit called a capsule. This capsule is about 0.35 to 0.45 centimeters long and 0.25 to 0.35 centimeters wide.
How it Got its Name
The Boronia barrettiorum was officially described in 2006. A scientist named Marco Duretto wrote about it in a scientific journal called Nuytsia. He studied a plant sample that was found about 15 kilometers (or 9 miles) north of the Prince Regent River.
The second part of its name, barrettiorum, was chosen to honor Matt and Russell Barrett. They were the first people to collect this specific type of plant!
Where it Lives
As we mentioned, the Boronia barrettiorum is quite rare. It's only found in two known spots in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. These two places are about 30 kilometers (or 19 miles) apart. The plants grow among rocks and large boulders on sandy slopes, north of the Prince Regent River.
Protecting This Plant
The Western Australian Government's Department of Parks and Wildlife has given Boronia barrettiorum a special conservation status: "Priority Two".
What does "Priority Two" mean? It means that this plant is not very well known. It has only been found in one or a few locations. Because it's so rare and found in such limited areas, it needs to be carefully watched and protected to make sure it doesn't disappear.
