SPECIES: Boronia hippopala — Velvet Boronia
CLASSIFICATION: Vulnerable
Velvet Boronia is a captivating aromatic shrub, endemic to the cool, wet heathlands and forest margins of northeastern Tasmania. Adorned with delicate white to pink four-petalled flowers and soft pinnate leaves clothed in fine hairs, this erect woody plant typically grows up to 1.5–2 meters tall. Its limited range, spanning only about 62 km, and confined to just eight subpopulations across five sites, underscores its rarity; the estimated mature population numbers fewer than 15,000 individuals.
Velvet Boronia faces several serious threats that put its survival at risk. Chief among these are dieback from the invasive plant pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi, unfavourable fire regimes, and alterations to water flow, all of which jeopardise recruitment from the soil seed bank.
Photo: M Fagg