''Verticordia acerosa'' is a flowering plant in the myrtle family,

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

and is endemic to the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

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.

Description

''Verticordia acerosa'' is a shrub which grows to a height of about and has a single, branching stem. The leaves on the lower part of the stem are linear in shape, pointed, long and dished or almost circular in cross-section. The leaves near the flowers are lance-shaped to egg-shaped or almost circular. The flower-cup is top-shaped, long, glabrous, covered with small lumps and has 10 ribs. The

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are shaped like fingers on a hand, and yellow, turning to red. Flowering time is from August to November, from September in southern parts of the plant's range.

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described by

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

in 1839 and the description was published in ''

A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony "A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony", also known by its standard botanical abbreviation ''Sketch Veg. Swan R.'', is an 1839 article by John Lindley on the flora of the Swan River Colony. Nearly 300 new species were published in it, ...

''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''acerosa'') is a Latin word meaning "full of chaff". There are two varieties: * ''V. acerosa'' Lindl. var. ''acerosa'' which has its

staminode In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. ...

s fringed with hairs, upper leaves that are lance-shaped to egg-shaped and bright yellow young flowers; * ''V. acerosa'' var. ''preissii'' ( Schauer) A.S.George which has staminodes with toothed margins, elliptic to almost circular upper leaves and lemon-yellow young flowers. When

Alex George Alexander or Alex George may refer to: *Alex George (botanist) (born 1939), Australian botanist * Alexander L. George (1920–2006), American political scientist * Alexander George (philosopher), American philosopher *Alex George (motorcyclist), Sc ...

reviewed the genus ''Verticordia'' in 1991, he placed this species in subgenus ''Chrysoma'', section ''Chrysoma'' along with '' V. citrella'', '' V. subulata'', '' V. endlicheriana''.

Distribution and habitat

The variety ''acerosa'' grows in

lateritic Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

soils in jarrah ('' Eucalyptus marginata'') and marri ('' Corymbia calophylla'') forest or in sand in heath along the Darling Scarp or at the foot of the range between Forrestfield and Cannington. The variety ''preissii'' is more widely distributed across the

of Western Australia between Coorow and the Fitzgerald River National Park. It grows in a wide range of soils and vegetation associations, often with other species of verticordias in the Avon Wheatbelt, Jarrah Forest and Mallee

biogeographic regions A biogeographic realm or ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivided into ecoregions. De ...

Conservation status

''Verticordia acerosa'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

Use in horticulture

This verticordia was first grown in gardens in England in 1842. It can be propagated from cuttings and by seed, some garden specimens having self-sown. Its foliage, red young stems and bright yellow, perfumed flowers make this an attractive garden specimen. The variety ''preissii'' is often a more striking, compact small shrub with larger heads of flowers than the type variety. Both varieties need to be grown in light soils in a sunny location. They are usually frost tolerant but sometimes suffer from fungal infections.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7922874 acerosa Rosids of Western Australia Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1839