Species profile—Boronia keysii (Key's boronia)
Classification
Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Rutaceae → Boronia keysii (Key's boronia)
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Sighting data
Species details
- Kingdom
- Plantae (plants)
- Class
- Equisetopsida (land plants)
- Family
- Rutaceae
- Scientific name
- Boronia keysii Domin
- Common name
- Key's boronia
- WildNet taxon ID
- 17836
- Alternate name(s)
- Keys boronia
- Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
- Vulnerable
- Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) status
- Vulnerable
- Conservation significant
- Yes
- Confidential
- No
- Wetland status
- Wetland Indicator Species
- Endemicity
- Native
- Pest status
- Nil
- Short Notes
- BRI 011379
- Description
- Boronia keysii is an open thin stemmed sprawling shrub to 2m in height. The plant spreads to almost 2m, the secondary branches in one plane. The young stems are covered in short, golden-brown, star-shaped hairs.
Leaves are in opposite pairs along the branch and are either a single blade, or divided into 3, 5 or 7 leaflets arranged along each side of a winged stalk (pinnate). The pinnate leaflets are lance-like and the top leaf is at least twice the size of the side leafs. The simple leaves are usually on the lateral flowering branches. They are dark green above, paler beneath and measure up to 3cm by 8mm. Both leaf surfaces are hairless and the margins are curved under.
Flowers are a deep rose pink (or white) and grow in clusters of 2 to 6. The flower sepals (leaf-like flower parts attached to the outer base of the flower) are pointed and measure up to 2.5mm long by 1.2mm wide. The four flower petals (measuring 8mm long by 4mm wide) are broadest towards the pointed tip and narrower towards the stalk. The fruit has four smooth black seeds which are 3-4mm long. (Stanley & Ross 1983; Duretto 1999; Wang & Borsboom 1999; DEWHA 2008) - Map
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- Distribution
- Boronia keysii is only known to occur in a small area east of Gympie, in south-east Queensland. (DEWHA 2008; Herbrecs 2008)
- Distributional limits
- -26.1701388, 152.9583333
-26.2734087, 153.0216112 - Range derivation
- Range derived from extent of the taxon's verified records
- Habitat
- This species is found in lowland areas up to 20m above sea level and usually in areas where the water table is within 1m of the soil surface. It grows in sandy loam soils and humus podzols which are poorly to moderately well drained. It occurs in mixed eucalypt woodlands and brush box (Lophostemon confertus) woodlands to open forests of 8-35m in height with a well developed vine-forest understorey. (Wang & Borsboom 1999; DEWHA 2008)
- Behaviour
- Where the shrub occurs it is usually scattered throughout the understorey. It prefers warm and subtropical areas with an average annual rainfall of 1600-1700mm, falling predominantly in the summer months. (DEWHA 2008)
- Reproduction
- Flowering occurs primarily from May to November, although they may be seen at most times of the year. The fruits mature rapidly during flowering.
The plant requires fire for substantial regeneration, although some seedling recruitment occurs in the absence of fire. Plants are killed outright by fire and regenerate from seed on the plant and/or in the soil at the time of the fire. Seed appears to remain viable in the soil for many years. It also germinates well following soil disturbance. (Duretto 1999; Wang & Borsboom 1999; DEWHA 2008) - Notes
- Contributors: Sean FitzGibbon 16/06/1998; Ailsa Holland, Mellisa Mayhew 27/01/2009
- References
- Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (2008). Boronia keysii in Species Profile and Threats Database, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra. Accessed 25/09/2008. http://www.environment.gov.au/sprat
Duretto, M.F. (1999) Boronia sect. Valvatae (Benth.) Engl. (Rutaceae) in Queensland Australia. Austrobaileya 5(2): 273.
Herbrecs (2008). Boronia keysii, in BriMapper version 2.12. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 25/09/2008.
Stanley, T.D. & Ross, E.M. (1983). Flora of south-eastern Queensland (volume 1). Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane.
Wang, J. and Borsboom, A. (1999). Boronia keysii, in Species Management Manual. Department of Natural Resources, Brisbane. - Profile author
- Ailsa Holland (27/01/2009)
Other resources
- Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT)
- The Australasian Virtual Herbarium (AVH)
- Atlas of Living Australia
Data source
This profile data is sourced from the QLD Wildlife Data API using the Get species by ID function used under CC-By 4.0.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species/?op=getspeciesbyid&taxonid=17836.
This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
