''Verticordia argentea'' is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the myrtle

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

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 ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. 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.

Description

''Verticordia argentea'' is an erect, usually open, spindly shrub which grows to a height of with a single main stem. The leaves are broadly egg-shaped to almost circular, long and have a slightly bluish tinge. The flowers are scented, in spike-like groups each with a short stalk about long. Persistent, pointed bracteoles surround the flower. The

floral cup In angiosperms, a hypanthium or floral cup is a structure where basal portions of the calyx, the corolla, and the stamens form a cup-shaped tube. It is sometimes called a floral tube, a term that is also used for corolla tube and calyx tube. It ...

is top-shaped, about long and has 5 ribs. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s are pale pink, occasionally cream-coloured, long, with 5 to 7 feather-like lobes with a silvery fringe. 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 pale pink, rarely creamy-white and have fine lines and scattered spots. They are about long and have deeply divided lobes. The style is about long, straight and bearded in its upper part. Flowering time is from October to March or April.

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described by

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 ...

in 1991 and the description was published in ''

Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...

'' from specimens collected near Eneabba. 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 ...

(''argentea'') is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''argentum'' meaning "silver" referring to the silvery fringe on the sepals. George placed this species in subgenus ''Eperephes'', section ''Pennuligera'' along with '' V. comosa'', '' V. lepidophylla'', '' V. chrysostachys'', '' V. aereiflora'', '' V. dichroma'', '' V. x eurardyensis'', '' V. muelleriana'', '' V. albida'', '' V. fragrans'', '' V. venusta'', '' V. forrestii'', '' V. serotina'', '' V. oculata'', '' V. etheliana'' and '' V. grandis''.

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia grows in white, grey, or yellow sand, usually in association with other verticordias, in shrubland or '' Eucalyptus todtiana''

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

. It is only known from areas south of Eneabba in the Geraldton Sandplains

biogeographic region An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

Ecology

The native bee, '' Dasyhesma argentea'' has been recorded on this species of verticordia and the insect's name is derived from the plant's name.

Conservation

''Verticordia argentea'' is classified as " Priority Two" by the Western Australian Government

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 ...

, meaning that it is poorly known and known from only one or a few locations.

Use in horticulture

In cultivation, ''V. argentea'' is generally a bushier shrub than in the wild. Although difficult to establish, plants are generally hardy in well-drained soils in full sun. It is difficult to propagate from cuttings but relatively easy from seed, although seed is hard to obtain. Attempts at

grafting Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...

onto other species' rootstock has not been successful.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7922879 argentea Rosids of Western Australia Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1991