Verticordia hughanii
Verticordia hughanii, or Hughan's featherflower, is a small flowering shrub in the myrtle family found only in the south-west of Western Australia. It grows about 15–30 cm tall and 30–75 cm wide. The leaves are 2–3 mm long and can turn almost purple in extreme weather. The plant has bright red, unscented flowers gathered in spike-like groups at the ends of the branches, flowering from November to February.
Each flower sits on a short stalk. The sepals are bright red with long hairy lobes, and the petals are bright red and upright. The style is about 12–14 mm long.
It grows in sandy soils with gypsum on saline flats and sandy loam in heath and shrubland. There are only three known populations, totaling about 20 mature plants as of October 2015, between Dowerin and Goomalling in the Avon Wheatbelt region.
The species was first described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1878, named after Allan Hughan who collected the type specimens. In 1991, it was placed in the subgenus Eperephes, section Verticordella, with many related species.
Hughan's featherflower is classified as Endangered under Australian and Western Australian law, and an interim recovery plan has been prepared. The main threats are a lack of new plants (recruitment), grazing by rabbits, weed invasion (especially wild oats), rising groundwater salinity, and inappropriate fire regimes. Future changes in land ownership may also threaten it.
In cultivation, the plant is described as striking when in flower and can be propagated from cuttings. It prefers well-drained soils in areas with winter or summer rainfall, but so far there hasn’t been a saleable potted version.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:24 (CET).