''Verticordia cooloomia'', commonly known as Cooloomia verticordia, 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 open, spreading shrub with large heads of sharply scented yellow flowers and is only known from areas in and near to the Cooloomia Nature Reserve, near the Murchison River.

Description

''Verticordia cooloomia'' is an openly branched shrub with a single stem at the base, growing to a height of up to and a width of up to . The leaves near the base of the plant are linear in shape, approximately circular in cross section and long, those further up the stem are lance-shaped, dished and long and those near the flowers are almost circular with a pointed end and are in diameter. The flowers are sharply scented and 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 erect 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 broadly top-shaped, 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 a golden-yellow colour, long, with 11 to 13 lobes which have a short fringe of hairs. 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 golden-yellow, , almost circular in shape with an irregularly toothed margin. 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 October to November. The species is somewhat similar to ''

Verticordia nitens ''Verticordia nitens'', commonly known as Christmas Morrison and other names, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The Noongar peoples know the plant as kotyeningara. It i ...

'', '' V. aurea'' and '' V. patens'' but is easily distinguished from them by the larger size of its leaves and flowers.

Taxonomy and naming

''Verticordia cooloomia'' 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 at Murchison House Station by George and others in 1986. The species had previously been discovered by

Stephen Hopper Stephen Donald Hopper AC FLS FTSE (born 18 June 1951) is a Western Australian botanist. He graduated in Biology, specialising in conservation biology and vascular plants. Hopper has written eight books, and has over 200 publications to his n ...

in 1979 in the Cooloomia Nature Reserve. 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 ...

(''cooloomia'') is from the name of the reserve where the species was discovered. In the same paper, George placed this species in subgenus ''Chrysoma'' and as the only species in section ''Cooloomia''.

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia grows on sand ridges in heath and shrubland in and near the lower reaches of the Murchison River in the

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. ...

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 ...

. It forms a part of the Shark Bay tree heath.

Conservation

''Verticordia cooloomia'' 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 ...

, meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.

Use in horticulture

''Verticordia cooloomia'' is variously described as "very ornamental" and "a spectacular shrub, especially when plant in association with large rocks". It is usually propagated from cuttings and has been grown in a wide variety of soil types and climatic conditions although full sun is required for good flowering. The species is intolerant of phosphorus-containing fertiliser but is drought tolerant and responds well to pruning after damage by severe frosts.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7922893 cooloomia Endemic flora of Western Australia Myrtales of Australia Rosids of Western Australia Vulnerable flora of Australia Plants described in 1991