''Verticordia brachypoda'' 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 irregularly branched shrub with narrow leaves crowded on side-branches, and cream-coloured or white flowers with pink, cream or white centres.

Description

''Verticordia brachypoda'' is an irregularly branched shrub with a single stem at the base and which grows to a height of and a width of . Its leaves are mostly crowded on short side branches, long, linear to lance-shaped, almost circular in cross-section and have a blunt end. Leaves near the flowers are slightly wider than those further down the branches. The flowers are scented and arranged in rounded groups near the ends of the branches, each flower on a stalk long. 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 shaped like half a sphere, long, and has 10 ribs, is more or less smooth but hairy near the top. 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 white, cream or pale pink, long, and have 2 to 4 lobes with long, thread-like edges. 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 broadly egg-shaped, pink, cream-coloured or white, long, with a fringe of long, thread-like hairs. The

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

is long and covered with hairs over most of its length. Flowering time is from October to December.

Taxonomy and naming

''Verticordia brachypoda'' was first formally described by

Nikolai Turczaninow Nikolai Stepanovich Turczaninow ( ru , Николай Степанович Турчанинов, 1796 in Nikitovka, now in Krasnogvardeysky District, Belgorod Oblast, Russia – 1863 in Kharkov) was a Russian botanist and plant collector who ...

in 1847. The description was published in '' Bulletin de la Société impériale des naturalistes de Moscou'' from specimens collected by James Drummond. In 1904,

Ludwig Diels Dr. Friedrich Ludwig Emil Diels (24 September 1874 – 30 November 1945) was a German botanist. Diels was born in Hamburg, the son of the classical scholar Hermann Alexander Diels. From 1900 to 1902 he traveled together with Ernst Georg Prit ...

described ''Verticordia stylotricha'' but that is now described as a

taxonomic synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

. 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 ...

''brachypoda'' is derived from the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

terms ''brachys'' (βραχύς), meaning "short" and ''pous'', genitive ''podos'' (πούς, genitive ποδός) meaning "foot",Backer, C.A. (1936). ''Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten'' (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs). referring to the length of the stalk supporting the inflorescence. 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 ''Verticordia'', section ''Pilocosta'' along with '' V. huegelii'' and '' V. multiflora''.

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia grows in sand, often with clay or gravel, often in association with other verticordias, in heath, shrubland or open woodland. It is widespread in areas between the

Arrowsmith River The Arrowsmith River lies within the Mid West region of Western Australia. The explorer George Grey found the river on 11 April 1839, on his second expedition along the west coast. He named it after the distinguished English cartographer Joh ...

, Wialki and

Ravensthorpe Ravensthorpe may refer to any of the following places. England *Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury in West Yorkshire **Ravensthorpe railway station, Dewsbury *Ravensthorpe, Northamptonshire *Ravensthorpe, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire *Ravensthorpe, an histor ...

in the

Avon Wheatbelt The Avon Wheatbelt is a bioregion in Western Australia. It has an area of . It is considered part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion. Geography The Avon Wheatbelt bioregion is mostly a gently undulating landscape with low reli ...

, Coolgardie,

Esperance Plains Esperance Plains, also known as Eyre Botanical District, is a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia on the south coast between the Avon Wheatbelt and Hampton bioregions, and bordered to the north by the Mallee region. It is a pl ...

Geraldton Sandplains Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

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

''Verticordia brachypoda'' is classified as "not threatened" 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 ...

Use in horticulture

This species of verticordia has been difficult to establish in cultivation but when successul is an attractive plant. In has been propagated from cuttings but germinating seeds has proven to be difficult. Its compact shape and long-lasting flowers indicate horticultural potential when the species' requirements are better understood.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7922886 brachypoda Rosids of Western Australia Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1847 Taxa named by Nikolai Turczaninow