Forest Boronia

Boronia Muelleri is a native shrub or small tree that grows mostly in south-east Victoria. There are some disjunct distributions in NSW south of Eden.

Credit vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au

Ferdinand von Mueller (1825–1896) was a German-born botanist. In 1853, Governor La Trobe appointed von Mueller government botanist for Victoria and later he became the first director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. Forest Borona was first properly described in 1863 from specimens collected from the vicinity of the source of the Bunyip River in what is now the Bunyip State Park.

The feather-like pinnate leaves are particularly aromatic, variously described as pine, cardamon, citrus or camphor – anyway, not unpleasant. The warty glands on the leaves contain the oils that give the smell.

The four-petalled, white-pink flowers occur mainly in spring and early summer but some seasons it is not unusual to see some flowers in autumn. Forest Boronia is in full flower at present in Nangara reserve at Jindivick.

Good native nurseries will sometimes have cultivars of Forest Boronia in stock.

A warty, smelly and beautiful Gippslander.