''Verticordia stenopetala'' 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 of

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 low shrub with small leaves and heads of pink to magenta-coloured flowers in late spring and early summer.

Description

''Verticordia stenopetala'' is a highly branched shrub which usually grows to a height and wide. The leaves are linear, slightly wider towards the tip, long and semi-circular in cross-section. The flowers are arranged in round or

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, each flower on a stalk 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 about long, smooth and hairy. 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 more or less spreading, long, pink to magenta-coloured with 6 to 8 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 a similar colour to the sepals, about long, egg-shaped with a few short teeth near the tip and are slightly hairy on the outside. The style is long, curved and hairy near the tip. Flowering time is from October to January.

Taxonomy and naming

''Verticordia stenopetala'' was first formally described by

Ludwig Diels Dr. Friedrich Ludwig Emil Diels (24 September 1874 – 30 November 1945) was a German botanist. Diels was born in Hamburg, the son of the classical scholar Hermann Alexander Diels. From 1900 to 1902 he traveled together with Ernst Georg Prit ...

in 1904 and the description was published in ''Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie''. 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 ...

(''stenopetala'') is 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 ''stenos'' meaning "narrow" and ''petalon'' meaning "petal". 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 ''Verticordia'' along with '' V. crebra'', '' V. helichrysantha'', '' V. plumosa'', '' V. sieberi'', '' V. harveyi'', '' V. pityrhops'', and '' V. fimbrilepis''.George, A.S. (1991) New taxa, combinations and typifications in ''Verticordia'' (Myrtaceae: Chamelaucieae). ''Nuytsia'' 7(3): 254

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia usually grows in sand, sometimes with gravel or loam in heath and mallee shrubland. It occurs between Walgoolan, Bullabulling and

Forrestania Forrestania Airport is located at Forrestania, Western Australia. See also * List of airports in Western Australia This is a list of airports in the Australian state of Western Australia. __TOC__ List of airports The list is sorted by ...

in the

Avon Wheatbelt The Avon Wheatbelt is a bioregion in Western Australia. It has an area of . It is considered part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion. Geography The Avon Wheatbelt bioregion is mostly a gently undulating landscape with low reli ...

, Coolgardie, and Mallee biogeographic regions.

Conservation

''Verticordia stenopetala'' 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

This verticordia had proven difficult to propagate and establish and few have been grown in gardens, even though it has been known for more than a century.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15390975 stenopetala Rosids of Western Australia Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1904