Verticordia mitodes facts for kids

Verticordia mitodes is a beautiful flowering plant that belongs to the myrtle family, called Myrtaceae. You can only find it in the south-west part of Western Australia. This plant is a small bush with many branches. It has tiny leaves and pretty magenta-colored flowers that bloom in late spring.

What This Plant Looks Like

Verticordia mitodes is a bush that grows from about 15 cm (6 in) to 45 cm (20 in) tall. It can spread out from 20 cm (8 in) to 60 cm (20 in) wide. It has one main stem with lots of side branches.

Its leaves are shaped like eggs or wide ovals. They are very small, only about 1 mm (0.04 in) to 2 mm (0.08 in) long and 0.5 mm (0.02 in) to 1.0 mm (0.04 in) wide. These tiny leaves are covered with short, soft hairs.

The flowers of this plant smell sweet. They grow in groups that look like spikes. Each flower sits on a small stem about 2 mm (0.08 in) to 3.5 mm (0.1 in) long. The part of the flower that holds the petals, called the floral cup, is shaped like a top. It's about 2.5 mm (0.1 in) long and has 5 ridges. It's smooth and has round green parts attached to it.

The sepals are the leaf-like parts that protect the flower bud. They are about 3 mm (0.1 in) to 4 mm (0.2 in) long and are pale pink to magenta. They have between 5 and 7 hairy tips. The petals are the same color as the sepals, about 4 mm (0.16 in) to 5 mm (0.20 in) long. They have a cool fringe that is another 2.5 mm (0.098 in) to 3 mm (0.12 in) long. The style, which is part of the flower's reproductive system, is 5 mm (0.20 in) to 6 mm (0.24 in) long and curved. It has a small bunch of hairs near its end. This plant flowers from late October to December.

How This Plant Got Its Name

The plant Verticordia mitodes was first officially described by a scientist named Alex George in 1991. He wrote about it in a science journal called Nuytsia.

The second part of its scientific name, mitodes (which is called the specific epithet), comes from an Ancient Greek word. This word means "thread-like." It refers to the cool, thread-like fringe you can see on the petals of the flower.

Where This Plant Lives

This type of verticordia plant likes to grow in sandy soil. Sometimes, the soil also has gravel and a type of clay called loam. It grows in areas with low bushes and shrubs, often alongside other kinds of verticordia plants.

You can find Verticordia mitodes in Western Australia. It lives in the areas between towns like Mukinbudin, Bungalbin, Narembeen, and Marvel Loch, Western Australia. These areas are part of the Avon Wheatbelt and Coolgardie regions.

Protecting This Plant

The Western Australian Government's Department of Parks and Wildlife has a special list for plants that need protection. Verticordia mitodes is on this list as "Priority Three."

What does "Priority Three" mean? It means that we don't know a lot about this plant, and it's only found in a few places. However, it's not in immediate danger of disappearing right now. Scientists keep an eye on these plants to make sure they stay safe.

Growing This Plant in Gardens

When people try to grow Verticordia mitodes in gardens, it grows slowly. It forms a small, bushy plant that flowers from November to March. It's usually easier to grow new plants from seeds than from taking cuttings (small pieces of the plant). Once the plants are established, they can handle both frost and dry weather quite well.