Verticordia Nitens - Cultural Use

Cultural Use

The plant has traditional names Kodjeningara and Kotyeningara, and common names such as Glistening Verticordia or those deriving from Morrison—later extended to similar species—these include Morrison Featherflower, Morrison-flower, and Orange or Yellow Morrison. The name of early collector, William Morrison from Kew, was attached to V. nitens, and "Morrison flower" was extended to the common name for many similar and well known species. Morrison was asked by Seymour Meares, the son of Richard Goldsmith Meares, as the botanist Drummond was unavailable to him. Meares request from James Mangles was to deliver material for the cultivation of "Chrysorhoe nitens" in England, and unable to recall this name he applied that of the collector as a label. Until this fact was noticed by the historian Rica Erickson, the common name was presumed to commemorate Alexander Morrison, the government botanist at the colony.

Besides the 1861 illustration by Fitch, V. nitens was included in Constance Miller's collection of watercolours, The Western Australian Floral Birthday Book 1912, Emily Pelloe painted a portrait of the species in 1925, and full colour photograph was printed in Gardner's West Australian Wildflowers, 1935, the earliest impression of this work. Besides the illustration given to every taxon's description in Elizabeth George's book on the genus by Margaret Pieroni, this species was selected with the 200 plants she painted for Discovering Wildflowers of Western Australia in 1983.

Verticordia nitens is commonly dried or preserved, with uses in a variety of arts and crafts, their exquisite arrangement of flowers and leaves being set in resin, as topiary trees, or decoration of cake. Flowering stems are readily available and easily preserved as pressed specimens, and these also appear in decorative applications. In addition to widespread use in flower arranging, they are used locally as a "Western Australian Christmas" decoration. Cuttings of the flowers retain colour and perfume, for up to 12 months, and this is one of few Verticordia species that can be hung and dried immediately, without a period in water. Another technique applied to V. nitens involves steeping cuttings in glycerine and hot water before drying, this affects colour but avoids flowers and leaves becoming brittle. They probably comprise the greatest part of Verticordia exported by the state's cut flower industry.