Plants of
South Australia
Boronia coerulescens ssp. coerulescens
Rutaceae
Blue Boronia
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 6.

Etymology

Boronia named after Francesco Borone (1769-1794), an Italian botanical enthusiast who accompanied many botanical expeditions and impressed Smith (person who described the genus) with his enthusiasm and ability. Coerulescens meaning bluish or becoming blue, alluding to the colour of the flowers.

Distribution and status

Found in the southern part of South Australia from the Nullarbor to the lower South-east growing in mallee communities on sand. Also found in Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Nullarbor, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Small shrub to 50 cm high. Leaves linear-oblong to 8 mm long and 1.5 mm wide; glabrous or sparsely setose, usually glandular-warty. Inflorescences axillary, mostly solitary, rarely 2 per cyme with blue, purplish or white flowers. Flowering between August and October. Fruits are pale brown, two to four segmented capsule. Seeds are black ovoid seed to 3 mm long and 1.5 mm wide with a wrinkled surface. Seed embryo type is linear fully developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and November. Collect mature capsules, those that are turning a pale straw colour and contain hard seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for a weeks. Then rub the capsules gently by hand to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. Seed viability can be low. This species has physiological dormancy and can be difficult to germinate.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
 
MSB

1,000 (2.95 g)
14-Dec-2005DJD261
Southern Lofty
BGA 
MSB
1,400 (3.57 g)
1,400 (3.57 g)
3-Nov-2005DJD261
Southern Lofty
8-Aug-200630%-18°C
BGA2,000 (5.69 g)10-Nov-2014JRG198
Southern Lofty
1-Jan-201685%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.
Germination table:
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