''Boronia thujona'', commonly known as the bronzy boronia, is a plant in the citrus

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in BoDD – Botanical Der ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to near coastal areas of southern

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 ...

. It is a shrub or small tree with aromatic,

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 groups of between two and six bright pink flowers in the leaf axils.

Description

''Boronia thujona'' is a

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

shrub or small tree that grows to a height of with two grooves between the leaf bases on the smaller stems. It has aromatic, pinnate leaves with between three and fifteen leaflets. The leaf is long and wide in outline with a petiole long. The end leaflet is narrow elliptic in shape, long and wide and the side leaflets are similar but usually longer. The flowers are bright pink and are arranged in pairs or groups of up to six in leaf axils, each flower on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

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 coine ...

s are triangular, long, wide. The four petals are long with a hairy lower surface and a small point on the tip. The eight stamens have hairy filaments. The stigma is about the same width as the

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

. Flowering occurs from August to November and the fruit is a glabrous capsule long and wide.

Taxonomy and naming

''Boronia thujona'' was first formally described in 1922 by

Arthur de Ramon Penfold Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

and Marcus Baldwin Welch and the description was published in '' Journal and proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales''. The specific epithet (''thujona'') refers to the ketone,

thujone Thujone () is a ketone and a monoterpene that occurs predominantly in two diastereomeric (epimeric) forms: (−)-α-thujone and (+)-β-thujone. Though it is best known as a chemical compound in the spirit absinthe, it is unlikely to be responsib ...

that Penfold, a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

, and Welch, an

economic botanist ''Economic Botany'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers all aspects of economic botany. The editor-in-chief is Robert A. Voeks (California State University, Fullerton). The journal was established in 1947 and is published b ...

, extracted from this plant. The common name, bronzy boronia, was first used by Jean Galbraith in 1977 and refers to a bronze sheen, sometimes present on the leaves.

Distribution and habitat

The bronzy boronia grows in damp, shady forest in the Sydney region and south to the

Budawang Range The Budawang Range, commonly called The Budawangs, a rugged mountain range within the Budawang National Park and the Morton National Park, are part of a spur off the Great Dividing Range and are located in the South Coast region of New South W ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15390222 thujona Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1922