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Verticordia rennieana
Verticordia rennieana is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an openly branched shrub with small, narrow, warty leaves and pink and silvery-white flowers in spring and summer. DescriptionVerticordia rennieana is an openly branched shrub which grows to a height of 0.3–1.4 m (1–5 ft) and .15–1.4 m (0.5–5 ft) wide. Its new growth is whitish and the leaves are linear, 2–7 mm (0.08–0.3 in) long and prominently warty.[2] The flowers are scented and arranged in small groups near the ends of the branches, each flower on a stalk 3–7 mm (0.1–0.3 in) long. The floral cup is hemispherical in shape, about 2 mm (0.08 in) long, with large green appendages forming a thick collar around the hypanthium. The sepals are pink and silvery-white, 2.5–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long with 7 to 10 feathery lobes. The petals are spreading, pink to purple 4 mm (0.2 in) long, oval to almost round with a smooth edge. There are only 5 fertile stamens with groups of 3 staminodes between the stamens. The style is about 1 mm (0.04 in) long, thick, straight and hairy. Flowering time is from October to January.[2] Taxonomy and namingVerticordia rennieana was first formally described by Ferdinand von Mueller and Ralph Tate in 1896 from a specimen collected by Richard Helms and the description was published in Transactions and proceedings and report, Royal Society of South Australia.[3][4] The specific epithet (rennieana) honours Edward Henry Rennie.[5] In his review of the genus in 1991, Alex George placed this species in subgenus Eperephes, section Integripetala along with V. helmsii, V. interioris, V. mirabilis and V. picta.[6] Distribution and habitatThis verticordia is found in a broad area between Perenjori and Southern Cross where it grows in sand, sometimes with gravel or loam, often with other species of verticordia[2] in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie and Yalgoo biogeographic regions.[7][8] ConservationVerticordia rennieana is classified as "Not Threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.[7] Use in horticultureAlthough this verticordia is rarely grown in gardens it is described as "a beautiful small shrub ... with honey-perfumed flowers". It is propagated from cuttings and requires a sunny position in well-drained soil.[2][9] References
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