Verticordia
(from verto, to turn, and cor, cordis, a heart; a title of Venus, to whom the Myrtle was sacred). Juniper Myrtle. Including Chrysorrhae. ORD. Myrtaceae. A genus embracing thirty-seven species of greenhouse shrubs, with usually the aspect of a Heath or Diosma, glabrous except the cilia on the edges of the leaves, limited to Australia. Flowers whitish, pink, or yellow, usually pedicellate in the upper axils, often corymbose, spicate, or racemose; calyx lobes five, often coloured, elegantly plumose, radiating; petals five, entire, fringed, or digitate; stamens ten, alternating with as many staminodia. Leaves small, opposite or very rarely alternate, entire. A selection of the introduced species is here given. They are of easy culture in a compost of sandy loam and leaf mould. They are readily propagated by cuttings of firm or partially-ripened shoots, inserted under a glass, or in a close frame. An abundance of water and frequent syringings are requisite throughout the summer. The roots should not be allowed to get quite dry at any time.
V. Brownii (R. Brown's). fl. white, small, very numerous, in dense, broad, terminal, leafy corymbs, more or less pedunculate; petals shorter than the calyx lobes. April. l. obovate or oblong, very obtuse, keeled or triquetrous, 1/12in. to 1/8in. long. h. 3ft. 1842. Shrub erect, bushy, and much branched. V. densiflora (dense-flowered). fl. white or pink, in dense, terminal, leafy corymbs, usually pedunculate; petals short, nearly orbicular, fringed. June. l. linear, semi-terete or triquetrous, slender, 1/4in. to 1/2in. long, crowded on the short side branches so as to form axillary tufts as in V. Fontanesii, but usually more remote on the main stems. h. 2ft. to 3ft. 1860. Shrub erect and bushy.
V. Fontanesii (Desfontaines'). fl. white or pink, in terminal, leafy corymbs, or rounded, dense panicles, close above the stem leaves or shortly pedunculate; petals as long as the calyx lobes, slightly pubescent. April. l. linear, semi-terete or triquetrous, usually slender, obtuse or mucronate, three to four lines long, densely crowded on the short lateral shoots, or rarely 1/2in. long and looser. h. 3ft. to 4ft. 1826. Shrub erect and bushy. SYN. Chamaelaucium plumosum.
V. insignis (remarkable). fl. pink, on pedicels often more than 1in. long, in loose, irregular, terminal, leafy corymbs; petals orbicular, cilated. April. l. broadly ovate to oblong, very obtuse or almost mucronate, two to four lines long, the lower ones, and those of the barren branches, often laterally compressed or vertical. h. 1ft. to 2ft. 1839. Shrub erect, branching from the base.
V. nitens (shining). fl. golden-yellow, on slender pedicels, in a broad, terminal corymb; petals about as long as the calyx, irregularly toothed. April. l. linear, semi-terete, rather slender, acute or mucronulate, mostly 1/2in. to 3/4in., but the lower ones sometimes above 1in., long. h. 2ft. 1862. Shrub corymbosely branched. (B. M. 5286.) SYN. Chrysorrhoe nitens.