''Verticordia chrysantha'', commonly known as yellow featherflower or yellow Morrison, 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 ...

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, slow-growing, rather bushy shrub with bright yellow flowers which often turn reddish-brown as they age. It is widespread in 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 the state.

Description

''Verticordia chrysantha'' is a shrub which grows to a height of , sometimes almost as wide and which has a single, branching stem at its base. The leaves are linear in shape, approximately circular in cross-section, long and have a pointed, sometimes hooked end. The flowers are usually scented, arranged in a

corymb Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial re ...

-like groups on the ends of the branches, bright yellow but ageing to bronze or brown, sometimes only in the centre. The flowers are held erect on stalks 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, with 10 ribs,

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 ...

and slightly warty. 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, long, with 7 or 10 densely 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, egg-shaped, and have long, spreading finger-like lobes. 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, straight or slightly curved. Flowering time is from September to December.

Taxonomy and naming

''Verticordia chrysantha'' was first formally described by

Stephan Endlicher Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher also known as Endlicher István László (24 June 1804, Bratislava (Pozsony) – 28 March 1849, Vienna) was an Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botanical Garden of Vienna. Bio ...

in 1838 and the description was published in ''Stirpium Australasicarum Herbarii Hugeliani Decades Tres'' from specimens collected by John Gilbert in 1842. 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 ...

(''chrysantha'') 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 ...

words meaning "gold" and ''anthos'' meaning "flower", referring to the flower colour. When Alex George reviewed the genus ''Verticordia'' in 1991, he placed this species in subgenus ''Chrysoma'', section ''Jugata'' along with '' V. chrysanthella'', '' V. brevifolia'', '' V. galeata'', '' V. coronata'', '' V. amphigia'' and '' V. laciniata''.

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia grows in a wide range of soils and vegetation associations between Kalbarri in the north-west and Esperance on the south coast, although not in the far south-west corner of the state.

Conservation

''Verticordia chrysantha'' 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

''Verticordia chrysantha'' is well established in horticulture although it is generally slow growing and then needs to be replaced after 5 years. In gardens it performs best in well-drained soil in full sun and has been shown to be drought tolerant. It produces an attractive display when used in mass plantings. Burying seeds in soil for twelve months then treating with aerosol smoke has been shown to improve the rate of germination of seeds of ''V. chrysantha''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15389062 chrysantha Endemic flora of Western Australia Myrtales of Australia Rosids of Western Australia Plants described in 1838 Taxa named by Stephan Endlicher