Boronia imlayensis, commonly known as the Mount Imlay Boronia, is a shrub of the genus Boronia which has been recorded only on the sandstone ridge near the summit of Mount Imlay

Mount Imlay National Park

Mount Imlay is a national park in New South Wales , 387 km south of Sydney, named after the Imlay brothers, who were early pioneers to the district. It is accessed from the Princes Highway, south of Eden, New South Wales....

, in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. A small shrub to 1 m (3 ft) high with pinnate leaves and pink to white flowers, it is found in eucalypt

Eucalypt

Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...

 woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

. To date (May 2010) this species is neither protected nor recognised as threatened.

Description

Boronia imlayensis grows as a small shrub to 1 m (3 ft) high. It has hairy, warty stems, and pinnate leaves, which are made up of seven to eleven smaller leaflets, each one lozenge-shaped and measuring 3.5 to 16 mm in length and 1-4 mm wide. Flowering occurs in late spring and early summer (September to December). The inflorescences are made up of three to nine small flowers which range in colour from white to a dark pink. Each flower has four petals which range from 5 to 7.5 mm in length.

Taxonomy

Boronia imlayensis was described recently, in 2003, by botanist Marco Duretto, after what was to become the holotype

Holotype

A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...

 was collected in 1995. Its specific name refers to the place where it is found, Mount Imlay.

Within the genus Boronia, this species is placed in the type series

Series (botany)

Series is a low-level taxonomic rank below that of section but above that of species.In botany, a series is a subdivision of a genus...

 Boronia which contains well known species such as Boronia megastigma

Boronia megastigma

Boronia megastigma is a species of shrub in the citrus family known by the common name brown boronia. This is one of several species of Boronia cultivated for its intense, attractive scent. It is the main Boronia source of essential oils, while its relative Boronia heterophylla is more often...

. Within this, it belongs to a group of 25 species of pinnate-leaved boronias from southeastern Australia, many of which have restricted ranges. Its relatives include B. citriodora, B. gunnii, B. latipinna, B. muelleri

Boronia muelleri

Boronia muelleri is a flowering plant that occurs in open forest in Victoria and New South Wales in Australia. It grows to between 0.8 and 3 metres in height and has scented, pinnate leaves which have 7 and 17 leaflets, each 5 to 25 mm long and 1 to 3 mm wide. Pale pink flowers appear...

, B. pinnata

Boronia pinnata

Boronia pinnata is a plant in the Boronia genus that grows on sandstone soils in New South Wales. It is a common species that is found from coastal up to lower mountain levels.-External links:#...

, B. rivularis, B. safrolifera and B. thujona.

Distribution and habitat

The species is found only in eucalypt woodland on a ridge atop Mount Imlay in Mount Imlay National Park

Mount Imlay National Park

Mount Imlay is a national park in New South Wales , 387 km south of Sydney, named after the Imlay brothers, who were early pioneers to the district. It is accessed from the Princes Highway, south of Eden, New South Wales....

 near Eden

Eden, New South Wales

Eden is a coastal town in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The town, south of the state capital Sydney near the border with Victoria, is located between Nullica Bay to the south and Calle Calle Bay, the northern reach of Twofold Bay, and built on undulating land adjacent to a...

 in far southern New South Wales.

As of April 2010 there is no official status for this rare plant, despite it being found only at Mount Imlay in an area which is only 500 metres long by about 50 metres wide.

Cultivation

The species is unknown in cultivation. Boronias in general are sensitive to dieback

Dieback

Dieback may refer to a number of plant problems and diseases including:* Forest dieback caused by acid rain, heavy metal pollution, or imported pathogens* The death of regions of a plant or similar organism caused by physical damage, such as from pruning...

and tend to be short-lived.