Verticordia patens

Verticordia patens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Verticordia
Subgenus:	Chrysoma
Section:	Chrysorhoe
Species:	V. patens
Binomial name
Verticordia patens A.S.George

Verticordia patens is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with linear, pointed leaves and faintly scented, pale yellow flowers in open heads on the ends of the branches. It is fairly common in a small area south of Badgingarra.

Verticordia patens is a slender, woody shrub which grows to a height of between 0.2 and 1.3 m (0.7 and 4 ft) and up to 0.6 mm (0.02 in) wide. The leaves are linear in shape, semi-circular in cross-section and 4–12 mm (0.2–0.5 in) long with a pointed end.

The flowers are faintly scented and arranged in fairly open, corymb-like groups on the ends of the branches on erect stalks 5–19 mm (0.2–0.7 in) long. The floral cup is about 1.0 mm (0.04 in) long, and slightly warty. The sepals are spreading, lemon-yellow, 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long, with between 5 and 7 feathery lobes and two hairy . The petals are erect, pale yellow, about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and egg.shaped with a toothed margin. The style is 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long, straight and glabrous. Flowering time is from September to November.

This species was first formally described by Alex George in 1966 and the description was published in Western Australian Naturalist. He collected the type specimen at Moore River. The specific epithet (patens) is a Latin word meaning "open" referring to the open branching habit of this species.

When he reviewed the genus in 1991, George placed this species in Subgenus Chrysoma, Section Chrysohoe along with V. nitens and V. nitens.

...
Wikipedia