Boronia bowmanii facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Boronia bowmanii |
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| Occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium |
Boronia bowmanii is a special plant that belongs to the citrus family, just like oranges and lemons! It's a type of shrub that grows upright and is only found in Queensland, Australia. This means it is endemic to that area. Its leaves are unique, looking a bit like feathers, and its flowers always have four petals.
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What Does Boronia bowmanii Look Like?
Boronia bowmanii is an upright shrub with many branches. It can grow to be about 1 m (3 ft) tall.
Its leaves are called pinnate, which means they have smaller leaflets arranged along a central stem, like a feather. Each leaf can have three, five, seven, or even nine leaflets. The whole leaf is usually 40–95 mm (1.6–3.7 in) long and 20–70 mm (0.79–2.8 in) wide.
The leaflet at the very end is long and narrow, about 10–60 mm (0.39–2.4 in) long and 1.5–4 mm (0.059–0.16 in) wide. The leaflets on the sides are a bit shorter, around 5–33 mm (0.20–1.3 in) long and 1–4 mm (0.039–0.16 in) wide.
The flowers of Boronia bowmanii grow in small groups, usually with three to seven flowers together. They grow on a short, woody stalk called a peduncle, which is typically 1–5 mm (0.039–0.20 in) long.
Each flower has four sepals, which are like small leaves that protect the bud. These sepals are shaped like an egg or a triangle, about 1.5–2.5 mm (0.059–0.098 in) long and 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) wide. The four petals are 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.079–0.12 in) wide. Interestingly, the petals grow bigger as the fruit starts to develop!
You can see this plant flowering from January all the way through October. After the flowers, it produces a fruit that is a capsule, which is a dry fruit that splits open to release seeds. The capsule is about 4.5–5 mm (0.18–0.20 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.079–0.12 in) wide.
How Was Boronia bowmanii Named?
The plant Boronia bowmanii was officially described for the first time in 1864. This was done by a famous botanist named Ferdinand von Mueller. He published his description in a book called Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae.
The second part of its scientific name, bowmanii, was chosen to honor Edward Macarthur Bowman. He was the person who collected the very first plant specimen of this type, which is called the type specimen.
Where Does Boronia bowmanii Grow?
This special boronia plant grows in different types of environments. You can find it in areas with heath, open woodlands, and forests.
It grows along the Great Dividing Range, which is a large mountain range in eastern Australia. Its habitat stretches from Bamaga in the north, all the way south to places like Charters Towers and Pentland in Queensland.
Is Boronia bowmanii Protected?
Good news! Boronia bowmanii is currently considered a plant of "least concern" by the Queensland Government. This means it's not in immediate danger of disappearing. Its status is managed under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.
