kids encyclopedia robot

Small-leaved boronia facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Small-leaved boronia
Boronia microphylla leaves and flowers (3).jpg
Boronia microphylla leaves and flowers
Scientific classification
Boronia microphylla DistMap75.png
Occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium

Boronia microphylla, commonly known as small-leaved boronia, is a plant in the citrus family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub with pinnate leaves with small leaflets and pink, four-petalled flowers.

Description

Boronia microphylla is a shrub which grows to a height of 0.3–1.0 m (1–3 ft). Its youngest branches are covered with small, warty glands and scattered bristly hairs. It has pinnate leaves with 5 to 15 leaflets on a rachis 3–16 mm (0.1–0.6 in) long and a petiole 2–8 mm (0.08–0.3 in) long. The leaflets are spatula-shaped to wedge-shaped, 3–8 mm (0.1–0.3 in) long, 1–4 mm (0.04–0.2 in) wide and glabrous.

The flowers are pink to purplish and are arranged mostly in the upper leaf axils in groups of up to five on a stalk 3–10 mm (0.1–0.4 in) long. The four petals are 5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and glabrous. Flowering occurs from October to February.

Taxonomy and naming

Boronia microphylla was first formally described in 1825 by Franz Sieber and the description was published in Ludwig Reichenbach's Iconographia Botanica Exotica. The specific epithet (microphylla) is derived from the Ancient Greek words mikros meaning "little" and phyllon meaning "leaf".

Distribution and habitat

This boronia grows in heath and forest in coastal areas north from Moruya in New South Wales to near Stanthorpe in Queensland, including areas inland as far as the Great Dividing Range.

Use in horticulture

Boronias are not usually easy to grow in the garden, but this species is one of the hardiest as long as it is grown in a protected position and given adequate water. It is most easily propagated from cuttings.

Gallery

  • Boronia microphylla (habit) Torrington

    Boronia microphylla in the Torrington State Conservation Area

  • Boronia microphylla (habit) in ANBG

    B. microphylla in the ANBG

  • Boronia microphylla leaves and flowers (2)

    B. microphylla in the ANBG

  • Boronia microphylla

    B. microphylla in the Gibraltar Range National Park

  • Boronia microphylla white form

    B. microphylla (white flowers) in the Gibraltar Range

  • Boronia microphylla (Washpool)

    B. microphylla in the Washpool National Park

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Small-leaved boronia Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.