Verticordia huegelii var. huegelii

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Verticordia huegelii var. huegelii
Verticordia huegelii var. huegelii - Flickr - Kevin Thiele (1).jpg
Verticordia huegelii var. huegelii - Flickr - Kevin Thiele.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Verticordia
Species:
Variety:
V. h. var. huegelii
Trinomial name
Verticordia huegelii var. huegelii

Verticordia huegelii var. huegelii, commonly known as variegated featherflower, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an upright, slender or bushy shrub, with creamish-white flowers turning pink or reddish maroon as they age, giving the plant a variegated appearance. It is similar to Verticordia huegelii var. decumbens but is more upright than that variety and lacks a lignotuber.

Contents

Description

Verticordia huegelii var. huegelii is a shrub which usually grows to 0.5 m (2 ft) high but some forms, especially one from the Darling Range, grow to 0.9 m (3 ft) high and 10–45 cm (4–20 in) wide. Its leaves are linear to club-shaped, semi-circular in cross-section and 2–8 mm (0.08–0.3 in) long. [2]

The flowers are unscented and arranged in rounded groups near the ends of the branches, each flower on a stalk 4–11 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long. The floral cup is top-shaped, 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long, smooth and partly hairy. The sepals are creamy-white, ageing to pink or reddish, 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long and lack lobes but are deeply divided with spreading hairs, some of which are longer and more prominent than others. The petals are a similar colour to the sepals, more or less round and spreading, with a fringe of hairs around their edge and 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long. The staminodes are lance-shaped to egg-shaped, tapering towards the tip which is fringed with a few hairs. The style is straight, 5–5.5 mm (0.20–0.22 in) long, hairy around its upper part and has a cap-like stigma. Flowering time is mostly from September to November. [2]

Some forms of this variety have flowers with a white style and yellow stigma when they open, while others have a red stigma with red hairs and a third type has a pale yellow stigma.

Taxonomy and naming

The species, Verticordia huegelii was first formally described by Stephan Endlicher in 1837 and the description was published in Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus Liber Baro de Hügel . [3] [4] In 1991, Alex George undertook a review of the genus and described four varieties of Verticordia huegelii, including this one. [1] [5]

Distribution and habitat

This variety of V. huegelii grows in sand, clay and loam, often with granite, laterite or sandstone sometimes in areas that are wet in winter but also on hillsides, often with other species of verticordia. It occurs from near Geraldton south to near Dwellingup and to a few nearby inland areas in the Avon Wheatbelt, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographic regions. [6] [7]

Conservation

Verticordia huegelii var. huegelii is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.

Use in horticulture

When grown in gardens, this variety is a single-stemmed, bushy shrub growing to a height of about 0.5 m (2 ft) with its variegated flowers remaining until December. It is usually propagated from cuttings, grows best in full sun and is usually hardy in a range of soils and climates as long as the soil is well-drained. The soil surface needs to be kept clear of organic matter to prevent problems with fungal infections. [2]

Related Research Articles

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

Verticordia huegelii, commonly known as variegated featherflower, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a sometimes an erect shrub, sometimes sprawling to almost prostrate. It has linear leaves and very feathery flowers in spring. The flowers are usually cream-coloured or white, becoming pinkish and reddish or maroon as the flowers age, giving a variegated appearance to the display.

<i>Darwinia citriodora</i> Species of flowering plant

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

Verticordia pennigera, commonly known as native tea, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is usually a small erect or prostrate shrub with small leaves and lightly-scented spikes of pale pink to magenta-coloured flowers in spring.

<i>Gompholobium huegelii</i> Species of legume

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<i>Pomaderris ferruginea</i> Species of shrub

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<i>Acacia huegelii</i> Species of legume

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<i>Verticordia huegelii <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> decumbens</i> Variety of flowering plant

Verticordia huegelii var. decumbens, commonly known as variegated featherflower, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an almost prostrate shrub, with creamish-lemon coloured flowers turning pink then red as they age, giving the plant a variegated appearance. It is similar to Verticordia huegelii var. huegelii but has a lignotuber and a lower growth habit.

Verticordia huegelii var. tridens, commonly known as variegated featherflower, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a slender, open, sometimes straggly shrub with bright yellow flowers which age to red and then brown and differently-shaped staminodes from the other varieties of the species.

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<i>Philotheca linearis</i> Species of plant

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<i>Comesperma integerrimum</i> Species of plant

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<i>Goodenia fasciculata</i> Species of plant

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<i>Hibbertia huegelii</i> Species of flowering plant

Hibbertia huegelii is a species of flowering plant in the family Dilleniaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, spreading or prostrate shrub with hairy branchlets, linear leaves and yellow flowers arranged singly in leaf axils on the ends of shoots, with fifteen to twenty-five stamens in bundles around the four or five carpels.

Lasiopetalum cordifolium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with hairy stems, heart-shaped leaves and pink, cream-coloured or white flowers.

<i>Sphaerolobium linophyllum</i> Species of flowering plant

Sphaerolobium linophyllum is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a prostrate to ascending shrub with a few narrowly linear leaves and red, yellow and orange flowers.

<i>Spyridium buxifolium</i> Species of shrub

Spyridium buxifolium is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a spreading shrub with egg-shaped to elliptic leaves, and heads of white, softly-hairy flowers with brown bracts at the base of the heads.

References

  1. 1 2 "Verticordia huegelii var. huegelii". APNI. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Elizabeth A. (Berndt) George; Margaret Pieroni (illustrator) (2002). Verticordia: the turner of hearts (1st ed.). Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. pp. 252–254. ISBN   1-876268-46-8.
  3. "Verticordia huegelii". APNI. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  4. Endlicher, Stephan (1837). Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in Sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus liber baro de Hugel. Vienna. p. 46. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  5. George, Alex (1991). "New taxa, combinations and typifications in Verticordia (Myrtaceae : Chamelaucieae)". Nuytsia. 7 (3): 231–394.
  6. "Verticordia huegelii var. huegelii". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  7. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 408. ISBN   0646402439.