''Verticordia brevifolia'' 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 a small shrub with shortly cylindrical leaves and bright yellow flowers which turn red as they age. There are two subspecies, both of which have limited distributions and a priority conservation rating.

Description

''Verticordia brevifolia'' is a shrub which grows to a height of and which usually has more than one main stem at its base. Its leaves are linear in shape, circular in cross-section, long, mostly crowded on short upper branches and have a short, sometimes hooked point on their end. The flowers are usually scented and arranged in rounded groups near the ends of the branches, each flower on an erect 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, about long and has a slightly warty surface. 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 bright yellow fading to red, long, with 6 or 7 feathery lobes. 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 also bright yellow, , with long, spreading, finger-like projections. 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 straight, long, and

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

. Flowering time is from September to November.

Taxonomy and naming

''Verticordia brevifolia'' was first formally described by Alex George 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 Nyabing by Alex and Elizabeth George. 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 ...

(''brevifolia'') 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 ...

words ''brevis'' meaning "short" and ''folium'' meaning "leaf". There are two subspecies: *''Verticordia brevifolia''

A.S.George Alexander Segger George (born 4 April 1939) is a Western Australian botanist. He is the authority on the plant genera ''Banksia'' and ''Dryandra''. The "bizarre" Restionaceae genus '' Alexgeorgea'' was named in his honour in 1976. Early life A ...

subsp. ''brevifolia'' which has sepals and petals long and occurs in the Nyabing area; *''Verticordia brevifolia'' subsp. ''stirlingensis'' A.S.George which has sepals and petals long and is only found in the

Stirling Range The Stirling Range or Koikyennuruff is a range of mountains and hills in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, south-east of Perth. It is over wide from west to east, stretching from the highway between Mount Barker and Cranb ...

area. George placed this species in subgenus ''Chrysoma'', section ''Jugata'' along with '' V. chrysanthella'', '' V. chrysantha'', '' V. galeata'', '' V. coronata'', '' V. amphigia'' and '' V. laciniata''.

Distribution and habitat

All the known populations of subspecies ''brevifolia'' occur in gravelly clay on roadsides between Nyabing, Dumbleyung and Ongerup 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 ...

Jarrah Forest Jarrah forest is tall open forest in which the dominant overstory tree is ''Eucalyptus marginata'' (jarrah). The ecosystem occurs only in the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. It is most common in the biogeographic region named in ...

and Mallee biogeographic regions. Subspecies ''stirlingensis'' is mostly only found in the

Stirling Range National Park Stirling Range National Park is a national park in the Great Southern (Western Australia), Great Southern region of Western Australia, approximately south-east of Perth. Description It protects the Stirling Ranges, or Koikyennuruff, a range o ...

in the

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 ...

and Mallee biogeographic regions where it grows in gravel, sand or loam in heath, shrubland or woodland.

Conservation

Subspecies ''brevifolia'' is classified as " Priority Three" 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 ...

because all the known populations occur on roadsides. Subspecies ''stirlingensis'' is classified as Priority Two because there are only a few known populations of this plant.

Use in horticulture

Subspecies ''brevifolia'' has proven to be easier to propagate and grow than ''stirlingensis'' and has been cultivated for more than eight years where it is a small shrub with brightly coloured flowers. Propagation from cuttings is usual, and the plants are tolerant of light frosts.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7922887 brevifolia Rosids of Western Australia Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1991