''Verticordia polytricha'', commonly known as northern cauliflower, 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 erect, bushy shrub with linear leaves and dense heads of white flowers in late spring and summer.

Description

''Verticordia polytricha'' is a shrub with a single stem at its base but which is densely branched and bushy. It grows to a height of and wide. Its leaves are linear in shape, semi-circular or triangular in cross-section, long and those near the ends of the branches are crowded. The flowers are scented and arranged in dense, corymb-like groups near the ends of the branches, each flower on a stalk about 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 ...

hemispherical A sphere () is a Geometry, geometrical object that is a solid geometry, three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...

, long and hairy on the upper half. 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 creamish-white, about long and have a fringe of long 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 the same colour as the sepals, spreading at first, erect later, long and hairy on the outside. The style is long, gently curved and hairy near the purple-coloured tip. Flowering time is from late September to February.

Taxonomy and naming

''Verticordia polytricha'' was first formally described by George Bentham in 1859 from a specimen collected by

Augustus Oldfield Augustus Frederick Oldfield (1821–1887) was an English botanist and zoologist who made large collections of plant specimens in Australia. Oldfield was born on 12 January 1821 in London, England. He made botanical collections in Tasmania, the coa ...

and the description was published in '' Flora Australiensis''. 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 ...

(''polytricha'') 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 ''poly'' meaning "many" and ''thrix'' meaning "hair" referring to the hairs on the sepals. In his review of the genus in 1991,

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 ...

placed this species in subgenus ''Verticordia'', section ''Corymbiformis'' along with '' V. densiflora'', '' V. brownii'', '' V. eriocephala'' and '' V. capillaris''.George, A.S. (1991) New taxa, combinations and typifications in ''Verticordia'' (Myrtaceae: Chamelaucieae). ''Nuytsia'' 7(3): 254

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia occurs between

Binnu Binnu is a town on the North West Coastal Highway in the Mid West region of Western Australia. The name derives from a well on the outskirts of town that was first in use in 1909. The name is Indigenous Australian in origin and is thought to mea ...

and Kalbarri and nearby areas in the Geraldton Sandplains,

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 Yalgoo

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 ...

where it grows in sand, usually over sandstone in heath and shrubland.

Ecology

A native bee, '' Euryglossa evansi'' has been observed visiting flowers of this verticordia.

Conservation

'' Verticordia polytricha'' is classified as " Priority Four" 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 is rare or near threatened.

Use in horticulture

Northern cauliflower is a hardy and reliable shrub in gardens and is readily propagated from cuttings but can also be grown from seed. It has been grown successfully in full sun in a range of soils and has flowered within 18 months of seed germination.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15389951 polytricha Rosids of Western Australia Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1867