Verticordia amphigia

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Verticordia amphigia
Status DECF P3.svg
Priority Three — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Verticordia
Subgenus: Verticordia subg. Chrysoma
Section: Verticordia sect. Jugata
Species:
V. amphigia
Binomial name
Verticordia amphigia

Verticordia amphigia commonly known as pixie ears is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is usually an open, much-branched shrub with narrow leaves and yellow flowers which sometimes produce a "sea" of colour in the wild. The flowers are surrounded by boat-shaped bracteoles which give the plant both its common and scientific names.

Contents

Description

Verticordia amphigia is a shrub which grows to a height of 1.3 m (4 ft), a width of 1 m (3 ft) and has one or several main stems with a number of branches. The leaves are linear to narrow lance-shaped, concave to almost circular in cross-section, 5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and have a pointed end. [1]

The flowers are scented, in rounded groups on erect stems 7–15 mm (0.3–0.6 in) long. Persistent, boat-shaped bracteoles with short hairs on their rim surround the flower. The sepals are yellow, about 2 mm (0.08 in) long, spread widely with 5 to 7 lobes covered with fine hairs. The petals are yellow, becoming red with age, 2.5 mm (0.1 in) long with spreading, finger-like projections. The style is about 3.5 mm (0.1 in) long, straight and glabrous. Flowering time is from October to November. [1]

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described by Alex George in 1991 and the description was published in Nuytsia from specimens collected south of Cockleshell Gully near Jurien Bay. [2] [3] The specific epithet (amphigia) is derived from the Ancient Greek word ἀμφίγυος (amphigyos) meaning "pointed at both ends" [4] referring to the boat-shaped bracteoles. [1]

George placed this species in subgenus Chrysoma, section Jugata along with V. chrysanthella , V. chrysantha , V. galeata , V. brevifolia , V. coronata , and V. laciniata . [3]

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia grows in sand, often in association with Melaleuca rhaphiophylla and Banksia prionotes , between Cockleshell Gully and Eneabba [1] in the Geraldton Sandplains and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographic regions. [5]

Conservation

Verticordia amphigia is classified as "Priority Three" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife, [5] meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat. [6]

Use in horticulture

Wild populations of this verticordia often produce a massed display of yellow flowers on red stems, indicating that the species has horticultural potential. The dried flowers retain their colour and might in future be grown commercially for the cut flower trade. Cuttings from wild plants have proven very difficult to strike but those taken from cultivated specimens have a much higher strike rate. Other methods of propagation have not as yet been trialled. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Verticordia eriocephala</i> Species of flowering plant

Verticordia eriocephala, commonly known as lambswool, and common, native or wild cauliflower is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with one densely branching, spreading main stem, small leaves and dense heads of creamy-white flowers, giving rise to the common names "lambswool" and "cauliflower". It is widespread over its range but becoming less common because of land clearing and illegal collecting of the flowers.

<i>Verticordia acerosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Verticordia acerosa is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with yellow flowers which change colour through red to almost black as they age. There are two varieties which vary in their leaf shape, their flower colour and some of the structures in the flower.

Verticordia aereiflora is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a thin but bushy shrub with small leaves and greenish-yellow flowers with red spots and red fringes on the sepals.

Verticordia argentea is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, open shrub with almost circular leaves and scented, pink and white flowers. It usually grows in sand and is found near Eneabba.

Verticordia aurea, commonly known as buttercups is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a slender, sometimes bushy shrub with a single stem at the base, cylindrical leaves and heads of scented, golden-yellow flowers in spring.

Verticordia brevifolia is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub with shortly cylindrical leaves and bright yellow flowers which turn red as they age. There are two subspecies, both of which have limited distributions and a priority conservation rating.

Verticordia capillaris is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with a single stem at the base, small leaves and creamy white or occasionally pink flowers in dense corymb-like groups. It is common in small areas near Geraldton.

Verticordia crebra, commonly known as Barrens featherflower, crowded featherflower or Twertup featherflower, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a sprawling shrub with crowded, cylinder-shaped leaves with small, yellow flowers that are almost hidden by the leaves but with a style which extends well beyond the petals. The plant looks superficially like a miniature pine tree.

<i>Verticordia venusta</i> Species of flowering plant

Verticordia venusta is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an openly branched shrub with small, egg-shaped leaves and spikes of pink to maroon-coloured flowers in spring and early summer.

<i>Verticordia galeata</i> Species of shrub

Verticordia galeata is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a woody shrub with thin, pointed cylinder-shaped leaves and heads of bright yellow flowers on the ends of the branches in spring.

<i>Verticordia chrysantha</i> Species of flowering plant

Verticordia chrysantha, commonly known as yellow featherflower or yellow Morrison, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small, slow-growing, rather bushy shrub with bright yellow flowers which often turn reddish-brown as they age. It is widespread in the south-west of the state.

<i>Verticordia chrysanthella</i> Species of flowering plant

Verticordia chrysanthella, commonly known as little chrysantha, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with cylinder-shaped leaves and small groups of lemon-yellow to gold-coloured flowers which fade to orange, red or brown.

Verticordia comosa is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an openly branched shrub with small, broad, almost round leaves and spikes of flowers that are pale yellow, sometimes with a white or pale pink centre.

Verticordia coronata is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub with leaves whose shape depends on their position on the plant, and groups of yellow flowers near the ends of the branches.

Verticordia dasystylis is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub, with many stems at its base, oblong leaves and scented, fluffy, yellow and white flowers. There are three subspecies, each of which has a priority conservation status.

Verticordia gracilis is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low shrub with small leaves and rounded groups of fluffy pale to deep pink flowers in late spring or early summer, following rain.

Verticordia integra, commonly known as plastic verticordia, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with only a few branches, with very thick oblong to egg-shaped leaves and heads of shiny golden-coloured flowers in late spring.

<i>Verticordia laciniata</i> Species of flowering plant

Verticordia laciniata is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an openly branched shrub with linear, slightly hairy leaves and heads of scented, bright yellow flowers which turn red then bronze-coloured as they age.

Verticordia paludosa is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an openly branched shrub with small leaves and pink to magenta flowers with spreading, feathery sepals and erect, fringed petals in summer and autumn.

Verticordia wonganensis is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub which grows near Wongan Hills and has a single main stem, small leaves and spike-like groups of large, pink, feathery flowers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Elizabeth A. (Berndt) George; Margaret Pieroni (illustrator) (2002). Verticordia: the turner of hearts (1st ed.). Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. pp. 146–147. ISBN   1-876268-46-8.
  2. ↑ "Verticordia amphigia". APNI. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 George, Alex (1991). "New taxa, combinations and typifications in Verticordia (Myrtaceae : Chamelaucieae)". Nuytsia. 7 (3): 231–394.
  4. ↑ "Pleurothallus amphigya" (PDF). Epidendra - The Global Orchid Taxonomic Network. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Verticordia amphigia". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  6. ↑ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
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