Verticordia mitodes

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Verticordia mitodes
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. Eperephes
Section: Verticordia sect. Verticordella
Species:
V. mitodes
Binomial name
Verticordia mitodes

Verticordia mitodes 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, highly-branched main stem, small leaves and small spikes of magenta-coloured flowers in late spring.

Contents

Description

Verticordia mitodes is a shrub with a single main stem with many side branches, which grows to a height of 15–45 cm (6–20 in) and 20–60 cm (8–20 in) wide. Its leaves are broadly elliptic to egg-shaped, 1–2 mm (0.04–0.08 in) long, 0.5–1.0 mm (0.02–0.04 in) wide and are covered with short hairs. [2]

The flowers are sweetly scented and are arranged in spike-like groups, each flower on a spreading stalk 2–3.5 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long. The floral cup is a top-shaped, about 2.5 mm (0.1 in) long, 5-ribbed and glabrous with rounded green appendages. The sepals are 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long, pale pink to magenta-coloured and have between 5 and 7 hairy lobes. The petals are a similar colour to the sepals, 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and have a fringe a further 2.5–3 mm (0.098–0.12 in) long. The style is 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long, curved and has a tuft of hairs near the tip. Flowering time is from late October to December. [2]

Taxonomy and naming

Verticordia mitodes was first formally described by Alex George in 1991 and the description was published in Nuytsia . [1] [3] The specific epithet (mitodes) is an Ancient Greek word meaning "thread-like" [4] referring to the fringe on the petals. [2]

George placed this species in subgenus Eperephes, section Verticordella along with V. pennigera , V. halophila , V. bifimbriata , V. lindleyi , V. blepharophylla , V. drummondii , V. wonganensis , V. paludosa , V. luteola , V. attenuata , V. tumida , V. carinata , V. centipeda , V. auriculata , V. pholidophylla , V. spicata and V. hughanii . [3]

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia grows in sandy soil, sometimes with gravel and loam, in heath and shrubland, often with other species of verticordia. It occurs between Mukinbudin, Bungalbin, Narembeen and Marvel Loch, Western Australia [2] in the Avon Wheatbelt and Coolgardie biogeographic regions. [5]

Conservation

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

Use in horticulture

In cultivation, V. mitodes is slow growing, producing a small bushy plant which flowers from November to March. Propagation from seed has proven easier than from cuttings and established plants are frost and drought tolerant. [2]

Related Research Articles

Verticordia albida 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 main stem with many branches and spike-like groups of scented, white feathery flowers with a pink centre.

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 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.

Verticordia auriculata is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, multi-branched shrub with small leaves and spikes of pink to magenta-coloured flowers in late spring to early summer and it is widespread in the wheatbelt.

<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 bifimbriata is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an open shrub with small leaves and spikes of pink flowers.

Verticordia carinata, commonly known as pea-shaped featherflower or Stirling Range featherflower, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect, spindly shrub with small, well-spaced leaves and pink and red flowers. It is a rarely seen plant, not known between its description in 1849 and its rediscovery in 1990.

<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>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 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.

Verticordia centipeda 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 crowded leaves and greenish-pink flowers with a silvery fringe, in spike-like groups on the ends of the branches. It is common in areas around Geraldton.

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

Verticordia dichroma is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a much-branched shrub with rounded leaves and spikes of scented, deep red and golden-coloured flowers.

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.

Verticordia muelleriana 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 relatively large, egg-shaped to circular leaves and long spikes of deep maroon coloured flowers in spring and early summer.

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 stenopetala 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 heads of pink to magenta-coloured flowers in late spring and early summer.

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

Verticordia tumida, commonly known as summer featherflower, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the north-west of Western Australia. It is an open shrub with very small leaves and clusters of deep pink flowers from late spring to early winter.

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.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 "Verticordia mitodes". APNI. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  2. 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. 346–347. ISBN   1-876268-46-8.
  3. 1 2 George, Alex (1991). "New taxa, combinations and typifications in Verticordia (Myrtaceae : Chamelaucieae)". Nuytsia. 7 (3): 231–394.
  4. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 798.
  5. 1 2 "Verticordia mitodes". 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 29 June 2016.