Verticordia mirabilis

Verticordia mirabilis is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in the Gibson Desert. It is a bushy, spreading shrub with its leaves mostly crowded on short side branches and with large, deep red flowers in small groups in spring.

Verticordia mirabilis

Priority One — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Verticordia
Subgenus: Verticordia subg. Eperephes
Section: Verticordia sect. Integripetala
Species:
V. mirabilis
Binomial name
Verticordia mirabilis
Eliz.George & A.S.George[1]

Description

Verticordia mirabilis is a bushy shrub which grows to a height of 30–60 cm (10–20 in) and about 60 cm (20 in) wide but sometimes grows as high as 1 m (3 ft). Its leaves are crowded on short side-branches, linear in shape, triangular or almost circular in cross-section, 3–6.5 mm (0.1–0.3 in) long and have small, irregular teeth near the tips.[2]

The flowers are arranged singly or in small groups near the ends of the branches, each flower 20–23 mm (0.8–0.9 in) in diameter on a thick stalk 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long. The floral cup is top-shaped, 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long glabrous with 5 ribs and 5 large swellings near the top. The sepals are pale pink, 10–11 mm (0.39–0.43 in) long 16 mm (0.6 in) wide and have 6 to 8 hairy lobes. The sepals also have two hairy, ear-like appendages which bend over the hypanthium. The petals are spreading, dark red, egg-shaped, sometimes have a few irregular teeth and are 8–11 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long. The style is 16–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in) long with a few hairs near the tip. Flowering time is mainly during September and October.[2]

Taxonomy and naming

Verticordia mirabilis was first formally described by Elizabeth and Alex George in 2001 from specimen collected near Warburton and the description was published in Nuytsia.[1][3] The specific epithet (mirabilis) is derived from a Latin word meaning "wonderful" or "strange"[4] referring to "the wonder and astonishment of discovering a species of Verticordia so far beyond the previously known occurrence of the genus, in a desert habitat."[2]

This species was placed in subgenus Eperephes, section Integripetala along with helmsii, V. rennieana, V. interioris, and V. picta.[3]

Distribution and habitat

This verticordia is only found in lateritic soil on a rocky breakaway south of Warburton, growing with Verticordia jamiesonii[2] in the Gibson Desert biogeographic region.[5]

Conservation

Verticordia mirabilis is classified as "Priority One" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife[5] meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk.[6]

Use in horticulture

This recently discovered species has been propagated from cuttings and grown in pots to flowering stage but its horticultural requirements are not yet well understood.[2]

References
  1. "Verticordia mirabilis". APNI. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  2. Elizabeth A. (Berndt) George; Margaret Pieroni (illustrator) (2002). Verticordia: the turner of hearts (1st ed.). Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. pp. 304–306. ISBN 1-876268-46-8.
  3. George, Elizabeth A.; George, Alex S. (2001). "Verticordia mirabilis (Myrtaceae: Chamelaucieae), a striking new species from the Gibson Desert, Western Australia". Nuytsia. 13 (3): 465–469.
  4. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 527.
  5. "Verticordia mirabilis". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  6. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
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