''Verticordia chrysanthella'', commonly known as little chrysantha, 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 shrub with cylinder-shaped leaves and small groups of lemon-yellow to gold-coloured flowers which fade to orange, red or brown.

Description

''Verticordia chrysanthella'' is a shrub with a single stem at the base but highly branched, growing to a height of and a width of up to . Its leaves are linear in shape, round in cross-section, long with a hooked tip. The flowers are usually scented, arranged in

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, lemon-yellow or golden-yellow but ageing to orange, red or brown. 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, long,

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 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 bright yellow, 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 and glabrous. Flowering time is from July to December.

Taxonomy and naming

''Verticordia chrysanthella'' 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 in near

Wongan Hills Wongan Hills is a range of low flat-topped hills in the Avon Wheatbelt bioregion of Western Australia. It is located at , in the Shire of Wongan–Ballidu. History The range was first recorded in 1836 by Surveyor General of Western Australia Jo ...

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 ...

(''chrysanthella'') is a reference to ''

Verticordia chrysantha ''Verticordia chrysantha'', commonly known as yellow featherflower or yellow Morrison, is a flowering plant in the myrtle Family (biology), family, Myrtaceae and is Endemism, endemic to Western Australia. It is a small, slow-growing, rather bush ...

'' with the suffix "-ella" indicating a diminutive form of that species. George placed this species in subgenus ''Chrysoma'', section ''Jugata'' along with '' V. chrysantha'', '' V. brevifolia'', '' V. galeata'', '' V. coronata'', '' V. amphigia'' and '' V. laciniata''.

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia usually grows in soils derived from

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

, often in areas that are wet in winter and near granite rocks. It often grows in colonies in association with other verticordia species, in heath and woodland. It is widespread from near the Murchison River in the north inland to Bonnie Rock, Holt Rock and south to near Esperance.

Conservation

''Verticordia chrysanthella'' 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 chrysanthella'' is well established in horticulture and is probably the most commonly cultivated member of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

. It has been grown in most states of Australia as well as in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in a range of soil and climate types. It can be propagated from seed, from cuttings and by

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 ''

Darwinia citriodora ''Darwinia citriodora'', commonly known as lemon-scented darwinia or lemon scented myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is Endemism, endemic to the Southwest Australia, south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with oblong t ...

rootstock A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced. It could also be described as a stem with a well developed root system, to which a bud from another plant is grafted. It can refer to a ...

. It is especially suitable for massed plantings but also makes an attractive container plant.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15389287 chrysanthella Endemic flora of Western Australia Myrtales of Australia Rosids of Western Australia Plants described in 1838