''Boronia muelleri'', commonly known as the forest boronia or pink boronia, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

that occurs in forest, woodland and heath in Victoria and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in Australia. It is an erect, woody shrub or small tree with

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

leaves and up to fifteen pink to white four-

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

led flowers arranged in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s in spring and summer.

Description

''Boronia muelleri'' is an erect, woody shrub or small tree that grows to a height of with warty

glands In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

on the branchlets. The leaves are scented and pinnate with between seven and seventeen leaflets and long and wide in outline, on a petiole long. The end leaflet is narrow elliptic or oblong, long and wide and the side leaflets are similar but usually longer. The flowers are arranged in groups of up to fifteen in leaf axils on a peduncle long. The four

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s are egg-shaped to triangular, long and glabrous. The four petals are pale to deep pink or white and long and the eight

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s are hairy. Flowering mainly occurs from August to February and the fruit is a glabrous capsule long and wide.

Taxonomy and naming

Forest boronia was first formally described in 1863 by George Bentham who gave it the name ''Boronia pinnata'' var. ''muelleri'' and published the description in '' Flora Australiensis''. The description was based on specimens collected near the sources of the

Bunyip River The Bunyip River is a perennial river of the Western Port catchment, located in the West Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. Location and features The Bunyip River rises below Mount Beenak, part of the southern portion of the Y ...

in the

Grampians The Grampian Mountains (''Am Monadh'' in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic) is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. T ...

, near

Portland Bay Portland Bay (Dhauwurdwurrung language, Dhauwurdwurrung: ''Kardermudelar / Pathowwererer'') is a small bay off the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is about west of Melbourne. The city of Portland, Victoria, Portland is loc ...

, and towards the mouth of the Glenelg River by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

. In 1924,

Edwin Cheel Edwin Cheel (14 February 1872 – 19 September 1951) was an Australian botanist and collector. Before being appointed as a staff member of Centennial Park in 1897 he was a gardener in New South Wales and Queensland. Later he transferred to the R ...

raised the variety to species status as ''Boronia muelleri''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''muelleri'') honours Ferdinand von Mueller.

Distribution and habitat

''Boronia muelleri'' usually grows in moist sandy soil in forest, woodland and heath. It is found in New South Wales south from Eden to Buchan in eastern Victoria with disjunct populations near

Labertouche Labertouche is a locality in Victoria, Australia, located on Jacksons Track, in the Shire of Baw Baw. At the 2016 census, Labertouche had a population of 356. The first post office in Labertouche opened on 5 April 1876. The locality is n ...

and Chapple Vale.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4946282 muelleri Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state) Plants described in 1863 Taxa named by George Bentham