Boronia algida

A shrub to growing to 1.5 metres tall and may reach about 1 metre wide.

It occurs naturally in the higher tablelands (alpine) as well as lower regions of NSW. There are several disjunct populations; one in the northern tablelands in the Armidale-Tenterfield region, then with a few records around Bathurst and Lithgow-Newnes area; and then with much of the population from Wollongong through to Canberra, down to Kosciuszko National Park and the south coast area, into the alpine areas of north-eastern Victoria.

It typically grows on granite and sandstone in heath, shrubby woodland and dry sclerophyll woodland to forest.

It has red, hairy and warty branchlets.

Boronia spp. produce opposite leaves which can be simple or compound (sometimes on the same plant) and are usually aromatic (sometimes strongly-so). In this species, leaves are compound-imparipinnate with 5 to 9 leaflets. Overall leaves are up to 20 mm long, with obvious oil glands, aromatic when crushed.
The leaflets are broad-spathulate to rounded with a small point (mucro), about 7 mm long and 4 mm wide.

Boronia have complete flowers (bisexual and with all whorls present). The flowers are produced either solitarily or in groups, in the leaf axils, or, at the branch terminals. There are usually four sepals, four petals and generally eight stamens, surrounding one female part (carpel). Flowers are often pink to purple, which makes them easily identifiable in NSW bushland.

In this species, flowers are white to bright pink and borne either singly or in groups of up to three on the ends of branches, occurring from September to February.

The fruit of Boronia are described as a schizocarp-capsule; a capsule that splits into even segments, which each segment called a coccus. In this species, capsules are smooth, to 3 mm long and to 2 mm wide.
This species is not currently well-known in cultivation. It may be difficult to grow or may not have been trialled.

Growing boronias can be a frustrating experience and they have a reputation for being difficult. Their attractiveness has led to substantial efforts to cultivate them. One tip is to try to grow forms that are local to your area, rather than attempting to grow those species from interstate. There are certainly some species that have proven easier to grow than others.