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Genus Boronia Family Rutaceae

Description: Shrubs or rarely small trees or rarely herbs, glabrous or with simple or stellate hairs, unarmed.

Leaves opposite [or rarely subopposite or whorled], simple or 1-foliolate, palmately 3-foliolate or pinnately 3–19[-41]-foliolate or bipinnate; leaflets with margins entire or toothed, or rarely 3-lobed; lateral leaflets opposite.

Inflorescences axillary or terminal, cymose or paniculate or reduced to single flowers. Flowers bisexual, 4- or rarely 5-merous. Sepals usually 4, free. Petals usually 4, valvate or imbricate, free, persistent or not persistent in fruit. Stamens mostly 8, free, erect or pyramidally arranged. Carpels 4 [or rarely 5], ± free, lacking a sterile apex; styles fused, arising terminally or subterminally from the carpels; stigma scarcely differentiated from style or capitate or grossly swollen and almost sessile; ovules 2 in each carpel.

Fruit of 1–4 cocci; cocci not transversely ridged, with rounded apices; seeds released forcibly from dehiscing cocci, dull or shiny, black.


Herbarium
Sheet

Herbarium
Sheet

Distribution and occurrence: World: c. 140 spp, endemic Aust., all States.

Boronia has proved to be polyphyletic and to make it monophyletic section Cyanothamnous was reinstated as a genus (see Duretto et al. (2020) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/tax.12242). The species in NSW that have been transferred to Cyanothamnous are B. anemonifolia, B. anethifolia, B. coerulescens, B. inflexa, B. nana, B. occidentalis and B. rigens. The Flora will be updated when the Herbarium collection is curated.

Text by M.F. Duretto
Taxon concept:

Taxa not yet included in identification key
Boronia hapalophylla,    Boronia inflexa

 Key to the species 
1Hairs stellate; petals valvate, midvein of petal prominently raised on the outer surface.3
Hairs simple or absent; petals imbricate (except in B. algida), midvein of petal not prominently raised (except in B. barkeriana).2
2Leaves 1-foliolate.18
Leaves pinnate with 3 or more leaflets.
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26
3At least some leaves pinnate with 3–11 leaflets.4
All leaves simple or 1-foliolate.
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13
4Leaflets strongly discolorous, indumentum of the lower surface dense and concealing the epidermis.5
Leaflets slightly discolorous or concolourous, indumentum of the lower surface not dense and not concealing the epidermis.
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7
5Sepals narrow-deltate, at least 2.5 times as long as broad, the apex acute; leaves mostly 3–11-foliolate, rarely some leaves 1-foliolate.6
Sepals ovate, 1.5–2 times as long as broad, the apex acute or acuminate; leaves 1-foliolate or 3–7-foliolate.
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Boronia ledifolia
6Largest terminal leaflet >20 mm long; largest lateral leaflets >18 mm long; all leaflets 10–15 mm wide; petals 7–8 mm long; coastal ranges north from Coffs Harbour (NC).Boronia umbellata
Largest terminal leaflet <25 mm long, largest lateral leaflets <18 mm long; all leaflets 2–7 mm wide; petals 3–12 mm long; chiefly from Bylong to Denman, W part of the Nandewar Ra. and Gibraltar Ra. N.P. (NT, NWS, CWS)
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Boronia angustisepala
7Midrib not raised on the lower surface of the leaflets.8
Midrib raised on the lower surface of the leaflets.
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12
8Sepals narrowly ovate to deltate, at least twice as long as broad.9
Sepals ovate to deltate, less than twice as long as broad.
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10
9Leaves with sparse to moderately dense indumentum; stellate hairs sometimes stalked, grey to white, rays of stellate hairs to 0.5 mm long, flexuous and dull; chiefly on the Western Slopes and adjacent ranges, north from Inverell district (NT, NWS).Boronia granitica
Leaves glabrescent or with a sparse indumentum; stellate hairs not stalked, yellowish; rays of stellate hairs <0.25 mm long, ± straight, shiny; confined to Bolivia Hill (NT).
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Boronia boliviensis
10Broadest leaflets >3 mm wide; peduncle 2–10 mm long; leaves sometimes 3-foliolate or 1-foliolate; mature cocci glabrous or hirsute; at Woodsreef (NWS) and from Lees Pinch to Berrima (CC, CT, CWS).11
Broadest leaflets <3 mm wide; peduncle <3 mm long; leaves rarely 1- or 3-foliolate and then at first few nodes of branch only; in the Coonabarabran to Warrumbungle Ra. district (NWS).
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Boronia warrumbunglensis
11Leaves dorsiventral with lower surface paler than upper surface; from Lees Pinch to Berrima (CC, CT, CWS).Boronia rubiginosa
Leaves isobilateral with lower surface similar colour to upper surface; confined to Woodsreef (NWS).
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Boronia ruppii
12Leaves with a moderately dense indumentum; rays of stellate hairs 0.1–1 mm long;Boronia mollis
Leaves glabrous or glabrescent; rays of stellate hairs to 0.25 mm long;
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Boronia fraseri
13Leaves sessile.14
Leaves petiolate or base so attenuate so as to appear petiolate.
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16
14Margins of leaves glandular-warty; sepals narrowly ovate to deltate, at least twice as long as broad; rays of stellate hairs usually dull and flexuous.Boronia repanda
Margins of leaves smooth; sepals ovate to deltate, less than twice as long as broad; rays of stellate hairs shiny and usually ± straight.
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15
15Leaves slightly discolorous, usually glabrescent or rarely with a dense minute indumentum on both surfaces (hirsute Pilliga form); fruit hirsute; Western Slopes (NWS, CWS, NWP).Boronia glabra
Leaves strongly discolorous, upper surface of leaves glabrous and shiny, lower surface with a dense stellate indumentum: fruit glabrous; coastal areas north from Woolgoolga district (NC).
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Boronia rosmarinifolia
16Leaves glabrous or glabrescent, only slightly discolorous.Boronia ruppii
Leaves with a dense indumentum (epidermis not visible) on the lower surface (except in some juvenile leaves), adult leaves strongly discolorous.
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17
17Leaves with upper surface glandular-warty, margins glandular-toothed; leaves papery when dry, not firm.Boronia chartacea
Leaves with upper surface and margins smooth; leaves firm.
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Boronia ledifolia
18Leaves broad-obovate to circular.19
Leaves narrower, ± linear or terete to elliptic or obovate.
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20
19Margins of leaves finely toothed; swollen apex of staminal filaments hairy; style vestigial, obscured by the massively swollen globose stigma.Boronia serrulata
Margins of leaves entire; swollen tips of staminal filaments glabrous; style terete; stigma about as wide as style.
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Boronia rhomboidea
20Leaves terete to semi-terete.21
Leaves ± flat.
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23
21Staminal filaments glabrous; inflorescences terminal (though often on short axillary shoots).Boronia deanei
Staminal filaments ciliate; inflorescences axillary or axillary and terminal.
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22
22Leaves 2–8 mm long, obtuse; petals tipped with a small but distinct incurved hook, white to bluish mauve, persistent in fruit.Boronia coerulescens
Leaves 8–25 mm long, acuminate; petals lacking an incurved hook, bright pink, not persistent in fruit.
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Boronia falcifolia
23Inflorescences axillary; petals tipped with a small but distinct incurved hook, persistent in fruit; bracts persistent; seeds dull, finely wrinkled.24
Inflorescences terminal; petals lacking an incurved hook, not persistent in fruit; bracts not persistent in fruit (often falling before flowering); seeds shiny, smooth.
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25
24Leaves discolorous, darker on upper surface; branchlets glabrous.Boronia polygalifolia
Leaves concolorous; branchlets with 2 longitudinal pilose lines separated by glabrous decurrent leaf bases.
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Boronia nana
25Petals 6–11 mm long; sepals caducous in fruit; bracteoles reduced to minute calli, persistent in fruit.Boronia barkeriana
Petals 3–6 mm long; sepals persistent in fruit; bracteoles scale-like, not persistent in fruit.
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Boronia parviflora
26Petals valvate; leaflets spathulate to broad-spathulate, distinctly darker on upper surface; plant ± branching dichotomously around the exclusively terminal inflorescences.Boronia algida
Petals imbricate; leaflets either not spathulate or if so, then concolorous; plant not branching dichotomously; inflorescences axillary or terminal.
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27
27Petals tipped by a small but distinct incurved hook, usually persistent in fruit; anther appendage white, contrasting with the brown anther connective; seeds dull, finely wrinkled.28
Petals lacking a terminal incurved hook, not persistent in fruit; anthers uniformly cream in colour; anther appendage minute or absent; seeds shiny, smooth.
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31
28Branchlets prominently 4-angled or with 2 deep longitudinal grooves separated by decurrent leaf bases, glabrous; leaves bipinnate.Boronia anethifolia
Branchlets with 2 very shallow pilose longitudinal grooves separated by glabrous to pilose decurrent leaf bases; leaves 3-foliolate to pinnate to bipinnate.
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29
29Leaflets mostly 3-lobed at apex.Boronia anemonifolia
Leaflets entire.
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30
30Leaves mostly pinnate to bipinnate; leaflets narrow- to linear-oblong, usually obtuse.Boronia occidentalis
Leaves mostly 3-foliolate; leaflets narrow-elliptic, acute.
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Boronia rigens
31Leaves 3-foliolate; leaflets terete.Boronia falcifolia
Leaves pinnate, usually with 5 or more leaflets; leaflets flat to terete.
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32
32Swollen tip of staminal filaments densely hairy; style vestigial, concealed by the massively swollen, globose stigma.Boronia floribunda
Swollen tip of staminal filaments glabrous; style terete; stigma about as wide as style.
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33
33Branchlets glandular-warty, usually hairy.34
Branchlets not warty, glabrous or sometimes hairy.
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36
34Leaflets spathulate to broad-spathulate to cuneate; longest leaflets 4–7 mm long.Boronia microphylla
Leaflets mostly narrow-elliptic to oblong; longest leaflets 7–25 mm long.
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35
35Branchlets glabrous or sparsely hairy between decurrent leaf bases; leaves 45–70 mm long; peduncles 4–15 mm long, pedicels 5–17 mm long.Boronia muelleri
Branches pubescent; leaves 16–26 mm long; peduncles 2–5 mm long, pedicels 5–7 mm long.
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Boronia imlayensis
36Branchlets hairy, sometimes the hairs short and restricted to 2 longitudinal lines separated by glabrous decurrent leaf bases.37
Branchlets glabrous.
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38
37Leaflets 0.3–1 mm wide, linear-oblong; sepals and pedicels ± pilose.Boronia subulifolia
Leaflets 1–3 mm wide, mostly narrow-oblong to elliptic; sepals and pedicels glabrous.
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Boronia safrolifera
38Margins of leaflets finely glandular-crenulate; leaflets slightly discolorous, darker on upper surface.Boronia thujona
Margins of leaflets entire; leaflets concolorous.
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Boronia pinnata

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