''Verticordia laciniata'' is a flowering plant in the myrtle family,

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 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 ...

of Western Australia. It is an openly branched shrub with linear, slightly hairy leaves and heads of scented, bright yellow flowers which turn red then bronze-coloured as they age.

Description

''Verticordia laciniata'' is an openly branched shrub which grows to a height of and a width of . The leaves are linear in shape, semi-circular in cross-section, long, wide with a pointed end and covered with short hairs. The flowers are scented, arranged in corymb-like groups on the ends of the branches, each flower on an erect stalk long. The sepals are spreading, bright yellow, about long with 11 or 12 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 long, egg-shaped to almost round and deeply lobed, bright yellow at first but turning red as they age. The

staminode In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. ...

s are narrow, tapering and deeply divided into narrow, pointed lobes. The style is about , straight or slightly curved and glabrous. Flowering time is from September to October.

Taxonomy and naming

''Verticordia laciniata'' was first formally described by

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 ...

in 1991 from specimens collected near Walkaway and the description was published in '' Nuytsia''. 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 ...

(''laciniata'') is derived from the Latin word ''lacinia'' meaning "the fringe or lappet on the border of a garment", referring to the fringed staminodes. George placed this species in subgenus ''Chrysoma'', section ''Jugata'' along with '' V. chrysanthella'', '' V. chrysantha'', '' V. galeata'', '' V. brevifolia'', '' V. coronata'' and '' V. amphigia''.

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia grows in sand, loam and clay, often with other species of verticordia in heath and shrubland. It occurs in an area between Walkaway, the Coomallo Important Bird Area, Three Springs and Coorow in the Avon Wheatbelt and Geraldton Sandplains

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 laciniata'' 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 verticordia is described as "a beautiful slender or bushy shrub with brilliant honey-perfumed flowers". It is difficult to propagate and only a few have been grown in gardens. It has usually been grown from cuttings and those that have been established appear to prefer a sunny position.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15389921 laciniata Rosids of Western Australia Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1991