Verticordia setacea
Verticordia setacea is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with small leaves and deep pink flowers with short styles in late spring.
Description
Verticordia setacea is a shrub which usually grows to a height of up to. The leaves are more or less oblong in shape, semi-circular to triangular in cross-section and long with a rounded end.The flowers are arranged in open spike-like or corymb-like groups near the ends of the branches, each flower on a spreading stalk long. The floral cup is top-shaped, long, rough, partly hairy and swollen near the upper end. The sepals are long, spreading, deep pink, hairy on the upper surface and fringed with long hairs. The petals are a similar colour to the petals, erect, about long, more or less circular in shape with hairs or teeth around the edge. The style is about long, straight and hairy near the tip. Flowering time is in November and December.
Taxonomy and naming
Verticordia setacea was first formally described by Alex [George (botanist)|Alex George] in 2010 from a specimen collected on private land near Lake [Grace, Western Australia|Lake Grace] and the description was published in Nuytsia. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin word seta meaning "bristle" referring to the bristly surface of some parts of the flowers of this species.George placed this species in subgenus Verticordia, section Verticordia [sect. Platandra|Platandra] along with V. gracilis.