''Verticordia plumosa'', commonly known as plumed 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 was the first species in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

to be described, although initially given the name ''Chamelaucium plumosum''. It is a shrub with linear leaves and rounded groups of scented pink, mauve or white flowers. Two varieties of this species have been declared as being "threatened". Verticordia plumosa detail

Description

''Verticordia plumosa'' is usually an openly branched shrub which grows to a height of . Its leaves are linear in shape, semi-circular in cross-section and long. The flowers are scented and arranged in rounded or

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 on stalks long. The floral cup is

hemispherical A sphere (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ) is a surface (mathematics), surface analogous to the circle, a curve. In solid geometry, a sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...

in shape, 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 pink, mauve or white, long and spread widely with 3 to 7 feathery 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, elliptic to egg-shaped, long and are initially spreading but later turn upwards. 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 long, curved and hairy near the tip. Flowering time differs, depending on the variety.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described by

René Louiche Desfontaines René Louiche Desfontaines (14 February 1750 – 16 November 1833) was a French botanist. Desfontaines was born near Tremblay, Ille-et-Vilaine, Tremblay in Brittany. He attended the Collège de Rennes and in 1773 went to Paris to study medici ...

in 1839 and given the name ''Chamelaucium plumosum''. The description was published in ''Mémoires du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle''. In 1917, George Druce changed the name to ''Verticordia plumosa'' and the change was published in a supplement of ''The Botanical Exchange Club and Society of the British Isles Report''. Details of the specimens used in the first description of the species are uncertain. The plant was probably first collected by

Archibald Menzies Archibald Menzies ( ; 15 March 1754 – 15 February 1842) was a Scottish surgeon, botanist and naturalist. He spent many years at sea, serving with the Royal Navy, private merchants, and the Vancouver Expedition. During his naval expeditions, h ...

, October 1791 and the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

collection may have been made in 1803 by Jean Leschenault. Both collections were probably made at the

King George Sound King George Sound (Mineng ) is a sound (geography), sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Named King George the Third's Sound in 1791, it was referred to as King George's Sound from 1805. The name "King George Sound" gradually came in ...

, Western Australia. William Baxter collected another early specimen in 1829. The plant was also given the name ''Verticordia fontanesii'' by

Augustin de Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss people, Swiss botany, botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple ...

in 1828 but that nomination is no longer accepted. 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 ...

(''plumosa'') is derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word ''pluma'' meaning "feather", referring to the feathery sepals. In a revision of the genus ''

Verticordia :For the clam genus, see ''Verticordia'' (bivalve). ''Verticordia'' is a genus of more than 100 species of plants commonly known as featherflowers, in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. They range in form from very small shrubs such as '' V. verticor ...

'' in 1991, Alex George placed this species in subgenus ''Verticordia'', section ''Verticordia'', along with '' V. crebra'', '' V. harveyi'', '' V. helichrysantha'', '' V. stenopetala'', '' V. sieberi'', '' V. pityrhops'' and '' V. fimbrilepis''. He also recognised the following varieties: *''Verticordia plumosa'' ( Desf.) Druce var. ''plumosa'' *''Verticordia plumosa'' var. ''ananeotes'' A.S. George (1991) *''Verticordia plumosa'' var. ''brachyphylla'' (

Diels Diels is the last name of several people: * Rudolf Diels (1900–1957), German politician * Otto Diels (1876–1954), German scientist noted for his work on the Diels–Alder reaction * Ludwig Diels (1874–1945), German botanist whose standard aut ...

) A.S.George * ''Verticordia plumosa'' var. ''grandiflora'' ( Bentham) A.S.George * ''Verticordia plumosa'' var. ''incrassata'' A.S.George *''Verticordia plumosa'' var. ''pleiobotrya'' A.S.George *''Verticordia plumosa'' var. ''vassensis'' A.S.George A variant, known as 'Eric John', appears to be an intergeneric cross between ''V. plumosa'' and '' Chamelaucium floriferum''.

Habit and distribution

Plumed featherflower mainly occurs in near-coastal areas from the

Arrowsmith River The Arrowsmith River lies within the Mid West region of Western Australia. The explorer George Grey found the river on 11 April 1839, on his second expedition along the west coast. He named it after the distinguished English cartographer John ...

to areas east of Esperance but the variety ''intercrassa'' is found well inland to areas near Newdegate and Hyden.

Conservation

The varieties ''ananeotes'' and ''vassensis'' are classified as " Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" 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 ...

References

---- {{Taxonbar, from=Q7922917 plumosa Endemic flora of Western Australia Myrtales of Australia Rosids of Western Australia Plants described in 1819