Verticordia pholidophylla facts for kids

Verticordia pholidophylla is a beautiful flowering plant that belongs to the Myrtaceae family, also known as the myrtle family. You can only find this plant growing naturally in the south-west part of Western Australia. It's a shrub that usually has one main stem at the bottom, with many side branches. Its leaves are yellowish and overlap, and its flowers are cup-shaped, feathery, and greenish-white to cream in color.

What Does Verticordia pholidophylla Look Like?

Verticordia pholidophylla is a bushy shrub that can grow between 30–100 cm (10–40 in) (about 1 to 3 feet) tall and 40–90 cm (20–40 in) (about 1.5 to 3 feet) wide. Its leaves look like small scales. They are thick and shaped like a broad oval, about 1.5–2 mm (0.06–0.08 in) long and 1.0–1.5 mm (0.04–0.06 in) wide. They often overlap each other.

The Flowers of Verticordia pholidophylla

The flowers grow in short, spike-like groups near the ends of the branches. Each flower sits on a tiny stalk, only about 1 mm (0.04 in) long.

• The floral cup (the base of the flower) is shaped like a top and is about 2 mm (0.08 in) long. It's smooth (which means glabrous). It also has small green appendages (extra parts).
• The sepals (leaf-like parts that protect the flower bud) are greenish-white to cream, but sometimes they can be pink. They are about 3 mm (0.1 in) long and have 4 to 7 hairy sections called lobes.
• The petals (the colorful parts of the flower) are the same color as the sepals. They stand upright and are about 4 mm (0.2 in) long. They have pointed lobes that extend another 1.5 mm (0.06 in).
• The style (the part of the flower that receives pollen) is about 4 mm (0.2 in) long. It is bent and has tiny hairs near its tip.

This plant usually blooms from September to November.

How Verticordia pholidophylla Got Its Name

Discovery and Naming

The plant Verticordia pholidophylla was first officially described in 1859 by a scientist named Ferdinand von Mueller. He studied a plant sample collected by Augustus Oldfield. The description was then published in a book called Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae.

The second part of its scientific name, pholidophylla, comes from two Ancient Greek words:

• pholis, which means "a scale"
• phyllon, which means "a leaf"

This name refers to the plant's small, scale-like leaves.

Plant Family Classification

In 1991, another scientist named Alex George reviewed the group of plants called Verticordia. He placed Verticordia pholidophylla into a smaller group called subgenus Eperephes, and then into an even smaller section called Verticordella.

Where Verticordia pholidophylla Lives

This type of verticordia plant is found in and around the Kalbarri National Park in Western Australia. It grows in sandy or clay soils. Often, you can find it in areas that get wet during the winter. This region is part of what is known as the Geraldton Sandplains biogeographic region, which is a way of dividing up areas based on their geography and living things.

Who Visits This Plant?

Plant Ecology

Scientists have observed a native bee, called the blue-banded bee (its scientific name is Amegilla cingulata), visiting the flowers of Verticordia pholidophylla. These bees help the plant by carrying pollen from one flower to another.

Protecting Verticordia pholidophylla

The Western Australian Government's Department of Parks and Wildlife has classified Verticordia pholidophylla as "Not Threatened." This means that, for now, there are enough of these plants in the wild, and they are not considered to be in danger of disappearing.

Growing Verticordia pholidophylla in Gardens

How to Grow This Plant

People who want to grow Verticordia pholidophylla in their gardens usually start new plants from cuttings. Cuttings are small pieces of the plant that are taken and encouraged to grow roots. You can also grow it from seeds.

Once this plant is growing in a garden, it tends to flower for a longer time than it does in the wild. It can also handle dry periods (drought) and light frost. It usually starts to produce its first flowers about three years after being planted.