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Boronia (Named after Francis Boroni)

(named after Francis Boroni, an Italian servant of Dr. Sibthorp, who perished from an accident at Athens; he collected specimens of many of those plants which are figured in the "Flora Graeca"). ORD. Rutaceae. Very elegant and useful shrubs, requiring similar treatment to ordinary greenhouse hard-wooded subjects, and much aided with a little extra heat in spring, when breaking into growth. Flowers pretty, pink-purplish or white; peduncles terminal, but usually axillary on the extreme branches, one to many-flowered; pedicels furnished at the base and middle with two opposite, short bracts, jointed, commonly dilated under the calyx. Leaves opposite, simple, or impari-pinnate, entire, or a little serrulated, full of pellucid dots. They should be placed out of doors from July to the middle of September; the most convenient place for them is in pits, as there are then greater facilities for protecting them from heavy rains and thunderstorms. When first put out, Boronias should not be fully exposed, but in the course of a week they may remain open to the full influence of both sun and air. Potting should be performed once a year, as soon as the top growth ceases, as the roots then extend themselves in preparation for their next year's functions. The best compost for them is one of peat and maiden loam in equal parts, and about one-sixth sharp silver sand. Many cultivators, however, prefer a compost consisting of good fibry peat and silver sand, together with some pieces of charcoal, smaller or larger according to the size of the pots used. The soil should be rammed firmly in the pots, which must be well drained. The leading shoots should be pinched, to ensure good bushy specimens. Propagation may be effected by young cuttings, or those made from the half-ripened wood; these should be put into a thoroughly drained pot of sandy soil, with 1in. of sand on the surface, and covered with a bell glass, which must be frequently taken off and wiped dry. When in the cutting state, water must be very carefully given around the rim of the pot, without taking off the glass. If placed in a temperature of about 50deg., and shaded from bright noonday sun, they soon root, when they may be potted off singly into small pots, and plunged in sawdust, or cocoa-nut fibre refuse, in which situation but little water is needed. Pinching repeatedly, when young, is the only means to secure good ultimate growth. Air must be given on all possible opportunities. B. alata (winged). fl. pale rose-colour, small; peduncles dichotomous, usually three-flowered; bracts fringed. May. l., leaflets three to five pairs, or more, crenate, revolute, pilose on the nerves beneath, as well as the rachis. h. 2ft. to 6ft. New Holland, 1823. (L. B. C. 1833.) B. anemonifolia (Anemone-leaved). fl. pink; peduncles axillary, solitary, one-flowered. May. l. stalked, trifid; segments narrow, wedge-shaped, furnished with two or three teeth at the apex, or quite entire. h. 1ft. to 3ft. New Holland, 1824. (P. M. B. 9, 123.) B. crenulata (crenulate).* fl. red, small, with a fringed calyx; pedicels axillary and terminal, one-flowered. July. l. obovate, mucronulate, crenulated. h. 1ft. to 4ft. King George's Sound. (B. M. 3915.) B. denticulata (finely-toothed). fl. rose-coloured; bracts deciduous; peduncles corymbose. March to August. l. linear, retuse, toothleted, terminated by a small point. h. 2ft to 6ft. King George's Sound, 1823. (B. R. 1000.) B. Drummondi (Drummond's).* fl. pretty rosy pink, freely produced during spring and summer. l. pinnatifid. h. 2ft. New Holland. A very pretty species, with a slender but compact habit of growth. There is a white-flowered variety of this species. (F. d. S. 9, 881.) B. elatior (tallest).* fl. pendulous, rosy carmine, very fragrant, disposed in long dense clusters along the ends of the branches. May. l. very prettily pinnately cut into linear segments. h. 4ft. Western Australia, 1874. (B. M. 6285.) B. ledifolia (Ledum-leaved). fl. red; peduncles axillary, one-flowered, each bearing two bracts in the middle. March. l. linear-lanceolate, quite entire, downy beneath. h. 1ft. to 2ft. New Holland, 1814. (P. M. B. 8, 123.) B. megastigma (large-stigma).* fl. numerous, axillary, fragrant, drooping, 1/2in. in diameter, sub-globose, campanulate; petals nearly orbicular, concave, maroon purple outside, and yellow within. l. sessile, pinnate, with three to five narrow linear rigid leaflets. h. 1ft. Of slender habit, with twiggy branches. South-western Australia, 1873.

B. pinnata (pinnate).* fl. pink, with a scent like that of Hawthorn; peduncles dichotomous. February to May. l., leaflets two, three or four pairs, linear, acute, quite smooth. h. 1ft. to 3ft. New Holland, 1794.(B. M. 1763.) B. polygalaefolia (Polygala-leaved). fl. red; peduncles axillary, solitary, one-flowered. March to July. l. linear-lanceolate, quite entire, opposite, alternate, and three in a whorl. h. 1ft. to 3ft. Port Jackson, 1824. B. serrulata (serrulate).* fl. of a deep rose colour, very fragrant; peduncles aggregate, terminal. July. l. trapeziform, acute, serrulated in front, smooth, full of glandular dots. h. 1ft. to 6ft. Port Jackson, 1816. (B. R. 842.) B. tetrandra (four-stamened). fl. pale purple; pedicels short, one-flowered. May. l. impari-pinnate; leaflets four to five pairs, linear, obtuse, smooth; branches pilose. h. 1ft. to 4ft. New Holland, 1824. (P. M. B. 16, 227.)