''Verticordia pityrhops'', commonly known as East Mount Barren featherflower or pine-like featherflower, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the myrtle

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. It is a single-stemmed shrub which is densely-branched with crowded narrow linear leaves giving the impression of a miniature pine tree. When it flowers in autumn, the shrub is completely covered with masses of very small, honey-scented, pinkish-purple flowers.

Description

''Verticordia pityrhops'' is a shrub with a single, thick, densely branched main stem and a few side branches and which grows to a height of and wide, although some specimens grow to as high as . Its leaves are dark green and crowded, narrow linear, almost needle-like, long with a pointed tip. The flowers are scented and arranged in

corymb Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial re ...

-like groups near the ends of the branches, each flower on a stalk long. The floral cup is top-shaped, about long, smooth but hairy. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s are about long, spreading and pink, fading to white and have between 3 and 5 hairy lobes. The

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s are a similar colour to the sepals, long, erect, egg-shaped, pimply on the outer surface and have a hairy fringe. The

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

is about long, curved and hairy near the tip. Flowering time is from February to June.

Taxonomy and naming

''Verticordia pityrhops'' was first formally described by Alex George in 1991 and the description was published in ''

Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...

''. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''pityrhops'') is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

words ''pitys'' meaning "pine" and ''rhops'' meaning "a shrub" referring to the habit of this species. Its common names include East Mount Barren featherflower, pine-like featherflower and little pine verticordia. George placed this species in subgenus ''Verticordia'', section ''Verticordia'' along with '' V. crebra'', '' V. helichrysantha'', '' V. plumosa'', '' V. stenopetala'', '' V. sieberi'', '' V. harveyi'' and '' V. fimbrilepis''.

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia only occurs in the Fitzgerald River National Park in the

Esperance Plains Esperance Plains, also known as Eyre Botanical District, is a biogeography, biogeographic region in southern Western Australia on the South_coast_of_Western_Australia , south coast between the Avon Wheatbelt and Hampton bioregions, and bordere ...

biogeographic region An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and con ...

where it grows in sand, sometimes with gravel amongst quartzite rocks, in heath and shrubland.

Conservation

''Verticordia hughanii'' is classified as "

Threatened A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...

" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and en ...

meaning that it is likely to become extinct or is rare, or otherwise in need of special protection. It is also classed as "Endangered" (EN) under the Australian Government

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...

(EPBC Act) and is included in the Fitzgerald Biosphere Recovery Plan. East Mount Barren Featherflower is killed by fire and regenerates from seed. There have been fires in the region in 1989 and 2006 and the total population in 2008 was estimated to be more than 420 mature plants. The main threats to the species' survival are inappropriate fire regimes and dieback disease caused by the fungus ''

Phytophthora cinnamomi ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'', also known as cinnamon fungus, is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants variously called "dieback", "root rot", or (in certain '' Castanea'' species), "ink disease". O ...

''.

Use in horticulture

Propagation of this verticordia is difficult. Cuttings have to be taken during a narrow window and seed set is poor. The few that have been successfully grown in gardens did not flower for up to five years but when they did so, produced masses of perfumed flowers on a bushy shrub.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15389834 pityrhops Endemic flora of Western Australia Myrtales of Australia Rosids of Western Australia Endangered flora of Australia Plants described in 1991