Verticordia pulchella

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Verticordia pulchella
Status DECF P2.svg
Priority Two — 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. Verticordia
Section: Verticordia sect. Intricata
Species:
V. pulchella
Binomial name
Verticordia pulchella

Verticordia pulchella 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 short, narrow leaves and feathery red or red and yellow flowers with long styles in spring and early summer.

Contents

Description

Verticordia pulchella is a shrub with many spreading branches, which grows to a height of 15–40 cm (6–20 in) and 20–60 cm (8–20 in) wide. Its leaves are rough, linear in shape, 2–7 mm (0.08–0.3 in) long and more or less circular in cross-section. [2]

The flowers are arranged in rounded groups on the ends of the branches, each flower on a stalk 7–9 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long. The floral cup is top-shaped, about 2 mm (0.08 in) long, hairy and rough near the base. The sepals are 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long, spreading, bright red or rarely, white, with many long hairs around the edges. The petals are a deep pink, sometimes yellow or creamy-coloured, 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long, erect, egg-shaped to almost round with short hairs around their edge. The style is 13–15 mm (0.5–0.6 in) long, curved and slightly hairy near the tip. Flowering time is from October to December. [2]

Taxonomy and naming

Verticordia pulchella was first formally described by Alex George in 1991 and the description was published in Nuytsia . [1] [3] The specific epithet (pulchella) is a Latin word meaning "pretty" or "rather pretty" [4] referring to the appearance of this species. [2]

George placed this species in subgenus Verticordia, section Intricata along with V. monadelpha and V. mitchelliana . [3]

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia grows in sand with loam and sometimes with clay, in heath and shrubland. It occurs in an area near Narrembeen, [2] [5] in the Avon Wheatbelt and Coolgardie biogeographic regions. [6]

Conservation

Verticordia pulchella is classified as "Priority Two" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife, [6] meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations. [7]

Use in horticulture

Verticordia pulchella has been difficult to propagate from cuttings and to establish in gardens. Some specimens have been grown from seed but have not survived for longer than a few months. [2]

Related Research Articles

<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.

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 fimbrilepis <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> fimbrilepis</i> Subspecies of flowering plant

Verticordia fimbrilepis subsp. fimbrilepis is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small bushy shrub with one openly branched main stem at its base, small, pointed leaves and rounded groups of pink flowers near the ends of the branches.

Verticordia fimbrilepis subsp. australis, commonly known as southern shy 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 one openly branched main stem at its base, small, pointed leaves and rounded groups of pink flowers near the ends of the branches.

<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.

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

Verticordia inclusa 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 small, thick leaves and groups of scented, mostly white to pale pink flowers with a red centre on the ends of the branches in spring.

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 jamiesonii is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is small shrub with short leaves crowded on young branchlets and white to pale pink flowers in small groups on the ends of branches in early 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 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 minutiflora is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a bushy shrub with small, crowded, cylindrical leaves and groups of white to pale pink flowers in summer and autumn. As suggested by its botanical name, it has the smallest flowers of any verticordia.

Verticordia mirabilis is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in the Gibson Desert. It is a bushy, spreading shrub with its leaves mostly crowded on short side branches and with large, deep red flowers in small groups in spring.

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

Verticordia mitchelliana, commonly known as rapier 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 bright red, rapier-like flowers in spring and early summer, which readily distinguish it from other species. It is commonly grown in private gardens and some forms have larger flowers than those usually found in the wild.

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.

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.

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

Verticordia penicillaris is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, widely spreading shrub, usually with several main branches. It is readily distinguished from other verticordias by its yellow flowers with white fringes and purple hairs on the end of their long styles.

Verticordia serotina is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the north-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with egg-shaped leaves and bright pink flowers with long, curved styles in spring.

Verticordia setacea 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 and deep pink flowers with short styles in late spring.

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 "Verticordia pulchella". APNI. Retrieved 18 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. 296–298. 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. 641.
  5. Keighery, Greg; Gibson, Neil. "Biogeography and composition of the flora of the Cape Range peninsula, Western Australia" (PDF). Western Australian Museum. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Verticordia pulchella". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  7. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 18 July 2016.