Verticordia rennieana

Verticordia rennieana is a flowering plant in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae) native to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an openly branched shrub growing 0.3–1.4 meters tall and spreading up to 1.4 meters wide. The plant has narrow, linear leaves measuring 2–7 mm long, which are prominently warty. Its flowers, which bloom from October to January, are scented and appear in small groups at the branch ends. Each flower is on a stalk 3–7 mm long, with a hemispherical floral cup about 2 mm long. The sepals are pink to silvery-white, 2.5–4 mm long, and feathery. The petals are spreading, pink to purple, oval, and smooth-edged, measuring 4 mm long. There are five fertile stamens with groups of three staminodes between them, and the style is short, thick, straight, and hairy. The species was first described by Ferdinand von Mueller and Ralph Tate in 1896 from a specimen collected by Richard Helms. The name honors Edward Henry Rennie. In Alex George's 1991 taxonomic review, Verticordia rennieana was placed in subgenus Eperephes, section Integripetala, alongside V. helmsii, V. interioris, V. mirabilis, and V. picta. Verticordia rennieana is found in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, and Yalgoo biogeographic regions of Western Australia, typically growing in sand with occasional gravel or loam. It is classified as "Not Threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife. Though rarely cultivated, Verticordia rennieana is described as a beautiful small shrub with honey-perfumed flowers. It is propagated from cuttings and thrives in sunny positions ...