Wallum boronia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wallum boronia |
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| Boronia falcifolia near Red Rock, New South Wales | |
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| Occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium |
The Boronia falcifolia, often called the wallum boronia, is a special plant. It belongs to the citrus family, called Rutaceae. This plant is found only in certain areas along the coast of eastern Australia.
It's a small bush with only a few stems. Its leaves usually have three parts. The wallum boronia is known for its bright pink flowers, which have four petals.
What Does Wallum Boronia Look Like?
The wallum boronia is a shrub that usually grows to be about 0.3–1 m (1–3 ft) tall. It has a few smooth, angled stems. Its leaves can be simple or have three parts. They are usually 3–25 mm (0.12–0.98 in) long and about 1 mm (0.039 in) wide. Each leaf has a stem-like part called a petiole that is 3–15 mm (0.12–0.59 in) long.
The small leaf parts are mostly round when you look at them from the side. They are often curved, like a sickle. The end leaf part looks similar to the side ones.
Up to three bright pink flowers grow in the upper leaf axils (the spot where a leaf joins the stem). Each flower is about 10 mm (0.4 in) across. They sit on a small stalk called a pedicel, which is 2–9 mm (0.08–0.4 in) long.
The flowers have four narrow, triangle-shaped sepals. These are about 4 mm (0.2 in) long and 1 mm (0.04 in) wide. There are also four petals, which are 4–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and have a tiny point at the end. Inside the flower, there are eight stamens (the parts that make pollen), and they are a bit hairy.
Wallum boronia mostly blooms from August to October. After flowering, it produces smooth fruits. These fruits are 2.5–4 mm (0.098–0.16 in) long and about 2 mm (0.079 in) wide.
How Wallum Boronia Got Its Name
The scientific name for this plant, Boronia falcifolia, was first officially written down in 1837. This was done by Stephan Endlicher. He used notes from Allan Cunningham, who had not yet published his work. The description was put into a book called Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus Liber Baro de Hügel.
Cunningham's handwriting was hard to read. Because of this, Endlicher first wrote the name as Boronia paleifolia. Later, George Bentham noticed the mistake in his book Flora Australiensis. He corrected the name to B. falcifolia.
The second part of the name, falcifolia, comes from two Latin words. Falx means "sickle" or "scythe". Folia means "leaves". This name describes the plant's curved leaves, which look a bit like a sickle.
Where Wallum Boronia Lives
The wallum boronia grows in special areas called wallum and heathlands. It likes deep, sandy soil. Sometimes, you can also find it growing in woodlands.
This plant lives in coastal areas. You can find it between Littabella National Park in Queensland and Myall Lakes National Park in New South Wales.
