''Verticordia verticordina'' 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 a small area near the coast of 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 small, low-growing shrub with crowded leaves and in spring, scattered pale greenish-cream and golden brown flowers. Its unusual flowers and fleshy leaves give the plant a superficial resemblance to a ''

Darwinia Darwinia may refer to: * ''Darwinia'' (plant) Rudge 1815, a genus of Myrtaceae found only in Australia *''Darwinia'' Raf., a synonym of the legume genus '' Sesbania'' Adans. * ''Darwinia'' (video game), a 2005 video game by Introversion Software * ' ...

''.

Description

''Verticordia verticordina'' is a shrub with many main stems and which grows to a height of and a width of . The leaves are linear in shape, semi-circular in cross-section, long and crowded near the ends of the branches. The flowers appear in scattered upper leaf

axil A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, fl ...

s on thick, erect stalks long. The floral cup is shaped like a

hemisphere Hemisphere may refer to: In geometry * Hemisphere (geometry), a half of a sphere As half of Earth or any spherical astronomical object * A hemisphere of Earth ** Northern Hemisphere ** Southern Hemisphere ** Eastern Hemisphere ** Western Hemi ...

, about long and hairy, especially near the base. 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 cream-coloured, turning brown as they age, elliptic, long, erect, with a ragged, papery, slightly hairy edge. 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 also cream-coloured but with a dark, brownish band in the centre, egg-shaped, pointed, erect and long. The

staminode In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co ...

s are pointed, longer than the stamens, and are a golden-brown colour. 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 and gently curved with a few hairs near the tip. The fleshy appearance of the leaves, almost entire margin of the sepals and the long style, distinguish this plant from other species of ''

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 ...

'' and give it a superficial resemblance to ''Darwinia''. Flowering time is from September to December.

Taxonomy and naming

''Veticordia verticordina'' was first formally described in 1864 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria, Australia ...

, who gave it the name ''Chamelaucium verticordina''. The description was published in ''

Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae ''Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae'' is a series of papers written by the Victorian Government botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in which he published many of his approximately 2000 descriptions of new taxa of Australian plants. Including the p ...

'' and the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

was collected by

George Maxwell George Maxwell (1804–1880) was a professional collector of plants and insects in Southwest Australia. The botanical specimens he obtained were used to make formal descriptions of the region's plant species. Biography Maxwell was born in England ...

in what is now the

Cape Le Grand National Park Cape Le Grand National Park is a national park in Western Australia, south-east of Perth and east of Esperance. The park covers an area of The area is an ancient landscape which has been above sea level for well over 200 million years and ...

. 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 ...

(''verticordina'') referred to its similarity to a ''Verticordia''. In 1865,

George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

changed the name to ''Darwinia verticordina''. When Alex George reviewed the genus ''Verticordia'' in 1991, he included this species, conserving the specific epithet ("like a verticordia"). George placed this species in '' Verticordia'' subg.'' Verticordia'' as the sole member of section ''Elachoschista''.

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia occurs near the south coast of Western Australia between Esperance and

Israelite Bay Israelite Bay is a bay and locality of the Shire of Esperance in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located along the Southern Ocean. Except for a small strip in the north-west of the locality, Israelite Bay is completely take ...

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 ...

and Mallee biogeographic regions where it grows near coastal granite outcrops in wet and sandy clay. It is sometimes found growing in heath with ''Verticordia plumosa'' var. ''grandiflora''.

Conservation

''Verticordia verticordina'' is classified as " Priority Three" 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 poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.

Use in horticulture

Although not having the horticultural potential of other verticordias, ''V. verticordina'' is relatively easy to propagate from cuttings and can be grown in pots or hanging baskets but does not flower prolifically.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7922937 verticordina Endemic flora of Western Australia Myrtales of Australia Rosids of Western Australia Vulnerable flora of Australia Plants described in 1864 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller