''Cyanothamnus penicillatus'' is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

of Western Australia. It is a low, spreading shrub with pinnate leaves and white flowers with 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 ...

s and 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 ...

Description

''Cyanothamnus penicillatus'' is a spreading shrub that grows to a height of . The leaves are sessile and pinnate with three or five leaflets, each leaflet linear to narrow wedge-shaped and long. The flowers are borne singly 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 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 sepals are egg-shaped, long and the four petals are white and long. The eight

s are slightly hairy and there is a very short point on the end of the

anthers 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 filam ...

. Flowering occurs mainly from October to November.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1863 by George Bentham who gave it the name ''Boronia penicillata'' in '' Flora Australiensis'' from a specimen collected by James Drummond. In a 2013 paper in the journal '' Taxon'',

Marco Duretto Marco Duretto (born 1964) is a manager and senior research scientist at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney in Australia. His primary research interests are systematics and conservation of Rutaceae, Rubiaceae, Orchidaceae, Stylidiaceae and evolut ...

and others changed the name to ''Cyanothamnus anemonifolus'' on the basis of cladistic analysis. 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 ...

(''penicillatus'') is derived from the Latin word ''penicillum'' meaning "little tail", "painter's brush" or "tuft".

Distribution and habitat

This boronia grows in sand and has a

disjunct distribution In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but considerably separated from each other geographically. The causes are varied and might demonstrate either the expansion or contraction of a s ...

between Toodyay and the

Fitzgerald River The Fitzgerald River is a river in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Surveyor General John Septimus Roe named the river during expeditions in the area in 1848 after the governor of Western Australia of the day, Charles Fitzge ...

Conservation

''Cyanothamnus penicillatus'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q106902220 penicillatus Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1863 Taxa named by George Bentham