''Verticordia brownii'', commonly known as pink brownii or pink 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 has small, neatly arranged, oval leaves and heads of pale pink to magenta or white flowers. It was one of the first verticordias to be collected, although it was not initially known by that name. The collection was made by Robert Brown on the Bass and

Flinders Flinders may refer to: Places Antarctica * Flinders Peak, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula Australia New South Wales * Flinders County, New South Wales * Shellharbour Junction railway station, Shellharbour * Flinders, New South Wa ...

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circ ...

of the Australian mainland on

HMS Investigator Nine ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Investigator''. Another was planned, but renamed before being launched. The name ''Investigator'' passed on to the Royal Indian Navy and after India's Independence, to its successor the Indian ...

Description

''Verticordia brownii'' is an erect or rounded shrub which grows to a height of , spreading to , and which has one main stem at its base. The main stem divides into small branches, upward to a flattened top. The leaves are oblong to egg-shaped, with the narrower end towards the base, concave, long, and blunt-ended. Leaves near the flowers are shorter than those further down the stems. The flowers are usually 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 near the ends of the branches, each flower on an erect stalk that is 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 flattened sphere, about long, constricted in the middle, warty and hairy near the base. 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 pale pink to magenta, fading to white and sometimes the sepals are white. They are long, with 3 or 4 feathery lobes, and have one or two hairs up to long. 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, long, and egg-shaped to almost circular. 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 straight, long, and hairy near the tip. Flowering time is from December to February. The species closely resembles ''

Verticordia eriocephala ''Verticordia eriocephala'', commonly known as lambswool, and common, native or wild cauliflower is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with one densely branchin ...

'', which was included in this species until 1991. Both have a woolly or "cauliflower" appearance, but ''V. eriocephala'' has a shorter, ()

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 ...

style. While the flowers of ''V. eriocephala'' are always white or creamy-white, those of ''V. brownii'' are only sometimes that colour.

Taxonomy and naming

The first collections of this species were made in 1802 by Robert Brown at Lucky Bay in what is now

Cape Le Grand National Park Cape Le Grand National Park is a national park in Western Australia, south-east of Perth and east of Esperance. The park covers an area of The area is an ancient landscape which has been above sea level for well over 200 million years and ...

, during the Bass and Flinders circumnavigation of Australia. The type specimen was formally described in 1819 by

René Louiche Desfontaines René Louiche Desfontaines (14 February 1750 – 16 November 1833) was a French botanist. Desfontaines was born near Tremblay, Ille-et-Vilaine , Tremblay in Brittany. He attended the Collège de Rennes and in 1773 went to Paris to study medi ...

who gave the species the name ''Chamelaucium brownii'', in honour of the collector of the type. In 1828,

de Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...

described the genus ''

Verticordia :For the clam genus, see ''Verticordia'' (bivalve). ''Verticordia'' is a genus of more than 100 species of plants commonly known as featherflowers, in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. They range in form from very small shrubs such as '' V. vertico ...

'' and renamed the present species ''Verticordia brownii'', making it one of the first of approximately 100 species placed in this

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 ...

. When Alex George reviewed the genus ''Verticordia'' in 1991, he placed this species in subgenus ''Verticordia'', section ''Corymbiformis'' along with '' V. polytricha'', '' V. densiflora'', '' V. eriocephala'' and '' V. capillaris.

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia is found between Hopetoun and Mount Ragged in the Cape Arid National Park, extending inland almost as far as Grass Patch in the

Esperance Plains Esperance Plains, also known as Eyre Botanical District, is a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia on the south coast between the Avon Wheatbelt and Hampton bioregions, and bordered to the north by the Mallee region. It is a pl ...

and Mallee biogeographic regions. It occurs in deep red or yellow sands, especially in the ridges, coastal dunes, granitic sands, and clays, within open scrub and heaths of the region.

Conservation

''Verticordia brownii'' 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 species began to be cultivated shortly after this discovery, its profuse and attractive form during flowering gaining the attention of nurserymen in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The species is cultivated as an ornamental shrub, is small in size, and usually presents rose-pink flowers that are profuse and perfumed. These appear during November, continuing until April in the garden, opening together, and nearly covering the leaves and branches. It is usually propagated from cuttings, and grows well in sandy, gravelly, or loamy soils, and the woolly heads of honey-scented flowers sometimes appear during the plant's first year of growth. The dried flowers are often used for flower arrangements, and retain their colour for a considerable time.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7922888 brownii Rosids of Western Australia Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1819 Garden plants