Verticordia aereiflora
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| Verticordia aereiflora | |
|---|---|
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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. Pennuligera |
| Species: | V. aereiflora |
| Binomial name | |
| Verticordia aereiflora | |
Verticordia aereiflora is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a thin but bushy shrub with small leaves and greenish-yellow flowers with red spots and red fringes on the sepals.
Verticordia aereiflora grows as a shrub to a height of 1.0–2.0 m (3–7 ft) and a width of 1.0–1.5 m (3–5 ft) and has a single, highly branched stem. The leaves are almost circular in shape, 2–2.5 mm (0.08–0.1 in) in diameter with a dark brown stalk less than 0.5 mm (0.02 in) long. The flowers are scented, arranged singly or in groups of up to 3 in leaf axils, often in several groups along the branches and have stems that are 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long. Each flower-cup is top-shaped, 2.5 mm (0.1 in) long, glabrous and has 5 ribs. The sepals are about 4 mm (0.2 in) long, greenish-yellow or yellow with a red fringe. The petals are egg-shaped and crown-like, about 4 mm (0.2 in) long and yellow with red spots. Flowering time is from November to January.[1]
Taxonomy and naming
The species was first formally described by Elizabeth George and Alex George in 1994 and the description was published in Nuytsia from specimens collected near Yuna.[2][3] The specific epithet (aereiflora) "is from the Latin aereus - bronze and flos - a flower, in reference to the colour of the flowers.[3]
Distribution and habitat
This verticordia grows in deep yellow sand near claypans in open shrubland in an area of about 1.0 km2 (200 acres) near Yuna in the Geraldton Sandplains biogeographic region.[4]