Verticordia eriocephala

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Wild cauliflower
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Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Verticordia
Subgenus: Verticordia subg. Verticordia
Section: Verticordia sect. Corymbiformis
Species:
V. eriocephala
Binomial name
Verticordia eriocephala

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.

Contents

Description

Verticordia eriocephala is a shrub which grows to a height of 2 m (7 ft) or more and a spread of 0.15–1.5 m (0.5–5 ft) and which has a single, highly branched stem at its base. Its leaves are elliptic in shape, dished and 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long, becoming shorter and broader near the flowering parts at the top. [2]

The flowers are scented and arranged in dense corymb-like groups, each flower on a stalk about 1.5 mm (0.06 in) long. The floral cup is hemispherical, 0.7–1.0 mm (0.03–0.04 in) long, constricted above the middle and hairy near its base. The sepals are creamy-white, 2.0–2.5 mm (0.079–0.098 in) long, with 5 hairy lobes and with one or two slender cilia extending out 3.8 mm (0.1 in). The petals are white, broadly egg-shaped to almost round, about 1.5 mm (0.06 in) long, with a finely toothed edge. The style is straight, 3.5–4.5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and glabrous. Flowering time is from September to January and the plant may flower after attaining a height of only 10 cm (4 in). [2]

The leaves of this species are shorter and wider than those of Verticordia polytricha and is distinguished from that species and from Verticordia capillaris by the extent of hairiness in the flowering structures. It is also similar in appearance to Verticordia brownii .

Taxonomy and naming

Early collections of this verticordia were made in the 1890s by Richard Helms and more reliably, by William Vincent Fitzgerald in 1898 and for many years it was incorrectly described as Verticordia brownii. Verticordia eriocephala was first formally described by Alex George in 1991 and the description was published in Nuytsia from specimens collected near Mount Adams, north of Eneabba by Alex and Elizabeth George. [1] [3] According to Alex George, the specific epithet (eriocephala) is derived from the Greek erion (wool) and cephala (head), [3] in reference to the appearance of the flowering plants as large white heads. [2] Elizabeth George mentioned cephale as Greek word for "head" instead. The ancient Greek word for "head" is kephalē (κεφαλή). [4]

George placed this species in subgenus Verticordia, section Corymbiformis along with V. polytricha , V. densiflora , V. brownii , and V. capillaris . [3]

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia grows in yellow, grey, and white sands and on gravel and is widespread on sand hills and plains. It occasionally occupies granite sites, and is often seen growing with other verticordia species. It occurs throughout the south-west from as far north as Mount Adams to as far east as Point Culver and as far inland as Boorabbin National Park. [2]

Conservation

Verticordia eriocephala is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife, [5] however its number are decreasing due to illegal harvesting of flowers from wild plants. [2]

Use in horticulture

This species is an attractive shrub when in bud and in flower and its dense bushy habit make it useful when not in flower. It strikes readily from cuttings but suitable material is often hard to obtain, even from cultivated specimens. It can also be propagated from seed. Established plants are hardy and frost tolerant but are killed by pruning when the entire flowering head is cut below the foliage. [2]

Related Research Articles

Verticordia forrestii, commonly known as Forrest's featherflower, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the north-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with small, egg-shaped leaves and massed displays of scented pink to red flowers in spring.

<i>Verticordia brownii</i> Species of plant

Verticordia brownii, commonly known as pink brownii or pink cauliflower is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has small, neatly arranged, oval leaves and heads of pale pink to magenta or white flowers. It was one of the first verticordias to be collected, although it was not initially known by that name. The collection was made by Robert Brown on the Bass and Flinders circumnavigation of the Australian mainland on HMS Investigator.

Verticordia attenuata 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 main stem, small leaves and pink to purple flowers which fade to white as they age. It usually grows in sand in areas that are wet in winter, often amongst grasses and is found in coastal areas near Bunbury.

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

Verticordia blepharophylla 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 a single main stem, leaves with hairy margins and pale to deep mauve-pink flowers and which occurs in an area between Perth and Geraldton.

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 subulata</i> Species of shrub

Verticordia subulata 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 pointed, linear leaves and in spring, heads of yellow flowers which turn red as they age.

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

Verticordia habrantha, commonly known as hidden featherflower, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a slender shrub with short, leafy side-branches and long flowering stems with rounded heads of mostly white flowers. Its hairy sepals are mostly hidden by the round, unfringed petals, and as a result, the plant looks like shrubs in the genus Chamelaucium, to which it is closely related.

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

Verticordia halophila, commonly known as salt-loving featherflower, or salt-loving verticordia, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, bushy shrub with small, crowded, thick leaves and spikes of red and pink flowers in spring.

<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 densiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Verticordia densiflora, commonly known as compacted featherflower, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with small leaves, usually small pink and white flowers and which is widespread in the south-west of the state. It is a variable species and in his 1991 paper, Alex George formally described five varieties.

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

Verticordia humilis, commonly known as small featherflower, 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 leafy branches and scattered, mostly red flowers hanging loosely near the ends of the branches.

Verticordia lehmannii is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is slender shrub with only a few branches, well-spaced, oppositely arranged leaves and small heads of pale pink to silvery flowers with a dark pink centre.

Verticordia luteola is a flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a more or less openly branched shrub with crowded leaves on its side branches and spikes of pale yellow or bright pink flowers which turn cream to brownish as they age. This verticordia is a summer-flowering species.

Verticordia pityrhops, commonly known as East Mount Barren featherflower or pine-like featherflower, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. 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.

Verticordia polytricha, commonly known as northern cauliflower, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, bushy shrub with linear leaves and dense heads of white flowers in late spring and summer.

Verticordia vicinella is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with narrow leaves and groups of small, scented, pink or pale yellow flowers, growing near Esperance and in the Cape Arid National Park.

Verticordia × eurardyensis, commonly known as Eurardy magenta, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub similar to both Verticordia dichroma and Verticordia spicata which grow in the same area and is thought to be a stable hybrid between those two species. It has mostly egg-shaped leaves and spike-like groups of dark magenta-coloured flowers which fade to straw-coloured, in late spring and early summer.

Verticordia sect. Corymbiformis is one of eleven sections in the subgenus Verticordia. It includes five species of plants in the genus Verticordia. Plants in this section are mostly compact shrubs 0.3–1 m (1–3 ft) tall with a constricted floral cup, fringed or divided sepal lobes and dense heads of small flowers. When Alex George reviewed the genus in 1991 he formally described this section, publishing the description in the journal Nuytsia. The name Corymbiformis is derived from the Latin word corymbus meaning "a bunch of flowers" and the suffix -formis meaning "shaped" referring to the flower arrangement of the species in this section.

References

  1. 1 2 "Verticordia eriocephala". APNI. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Elizabeth A. (Berndt) George; Margaret Pieroni (illustrator) (2002). Verticordia: the turner of hearts (1st ed.). Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. pp. 228–230. ISBN   1-876268-46-8.
  3. 1 2 3 George, Alex (1991). "New taxa, combinations and typifications in Verticordia (Myrtaceae : Chamelaucieae)". Nuytsia. 7 (3): 231–394.
  4. ↑ Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). A Greek-English Lexicon. Revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  5. ↑ "Verticordia eriocephala". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
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