Verticordia gracilis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Verticordia gracilis |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Verticordia
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| Species: |
gracilis
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The Verticordia gracilis is a beautiful flowering plant. It belongs to the myrtle family, called Myrtaceae. This plant is special because it only grows in the south-west part of Western Australia. It's a small shrub with tiny leaves. It grows lovely, fluffy pink flowers in late spring or early summer, especially after it rains.
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What Does It Look Like?
The Verticordia gracilis is a small shrub. It usually grows about 14 to 45 centimeters (6 to 18 inches) tall. It can spread out to be 20 to 60 centimeters (8 to 24 inches) wide. Some plants are open and thin, while others are more bushy.
Its leaves are shaped like a long oval. They are almost like a triangle or circle if you cut them in half. Each leaf is about 2 to 4 millimeters (0.08 to 0.16 inches) long. They have a rounded tip.
The flowers have a sweet smell. They grow in round, fluffy groups at the ends of the branches. Each flower sits on a straight stem about 9 to 12 millimeters (0.35 to 0.47 inches) long. The part of the flower that holds everything, called the floral cup, is shaped like a top. It's about 1.5 to 2 millimeters (0.06 to 0.08 inches) long. This cup is a bit hairy and bumpy.
The sepals are light to dark pink. They spread out and are about 3.0 to 3.5 millimeters (0.12 to 0.14 inches) long. Their edges are hairy. The petals are also pink and stand up straight. They are about 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) long and round. Their edges are a bit jagged. The style, which is part of the flower's reproductive system, is curved. It's about 4 millimeters (0.16 inches) long and has little tufts of hair. This plant usually flowers from late October to December or January, after it rains.
How It Got Its Name
The Verticordia gracilis was first officially described in 1991. A scientist named Alex George wrote about it. He found samples of the plant north of Mount Holland, near Hyden.
The second part of its scientific name, gracilis, comes from a Latin word. It means "thin" or "slender." This name was chosen because of the plant's thin stems and flower stalks.
Alex George placed this plant in a group called subgenus Verticordia, and then in a smaller group called section Platandra. At first, it was the only plant in this section. But later, in 2010, another plant called V. setacea was also added to the Platandra section.
Where It Grows and Lives
This verticordia plant likes to grow in sand. You can often find it where there is also loam (a mix of sand, silt, and clay) and gravel. It often grows near other types of verticordia plants.
You can find Verticordia gracilis in a few specific areas of Western Australia. These areas include places between Merredin, the Dragon Rocks Nature Reserve, and Mount Holland. These regions are known as the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, and Mallee biogeographic regions.
Protecting This Plant
The Western Australian Government's Department of Parks and Wildlife has a special list for plants that need attention. Verticordia gracilis is on this list as "Priority Three."
This means that we don't know a lot about this plant yet. It's only found in a few places. However, it's not in immediate danger of disappearing. One group of these plants is safe inside a nature reserve. But other groups are at risk because they grow along roadsides or near railway lines.
Plant Life and Features
Elizabeth Berndt, a researcher, observed something interesting about these flowers. She said that if you look closely, you can see "many 'dewy' centred flowers dripping with pools of nectar." Nectar is a sweet liquid that attracts insects.
However, studies have also shown that the anthers of this plant (the parts that hold pollen) have special glands. These glands are almost as big as the parts that hold the pollen. These glands are surrounded by cells that make a substance called a polyphenol. This special oil is released at the same time as the pollen.
Growing Verticordia Gracilis at Home
If you grow Verticordia gracilis in a garden, its flowers last much longer than those in the wild. Their bright color and sweet smell make them lovely garden plants.
People have found ways to grow new plants from existing ones. They can use cuttings, which are small pieces of the plant. They can also use a method called grafting. This is where a part of the Verticordia gracilis is joined onto the rootstock (root system) of another plant, like Darwinia citriodora.
Once these plants are established, they prefer sunny spots. They also need soil that drains water well, so their roots don't get too wet. Some of these plants have even grown well in areas that get a lot of rain in winter.
