Verticordia Nitens - Ecology

Ecology

V. nitens has been studied for its role as an example of a pollination by an oligolectic species of bee, a relationship described in 1992. The flowers are not attractive to typical insect pollinators, except for a single species of solitary bee Euryglossa morrisoni (or Euhesma, of family Colletidae), which feeds on nectar, pollen, and the oil retained on the anthers of this species and V. aurea.

The species is not considered to be threatened by extinction as it is common and populations are large. Naturally occurring plants have been heavily targeted for the cut flower industry, intermittent reports from 1993 record trends upward of 250,000 stems per annum, but the plant recovers well after harvesting. These later figures show a reduction after closer scrutiny of harvests, though much was obtained from private land, leading to increased sustainability when combined with greater care by pickers. V. nitens' records in the early 1980s were 83 000 bunches, the majority of the 2 000,000 verticordia stems in an annual harvest that sometimes permanently damaged the shrubs. Collection from Crown Land has remained permissible, with industry self-regulating its harvesters, but this may destroy local populations on reserves where this has occurred; the reduction in seeds in the soil can expose these populations to an inability to recover from bushfire in time to sustain its pollinator.

The shrub is listed for it susceptibility to Phytophthora cinnamomi, and as an 'indicator species' it is used to detect its presence in banksia woodland, though without observations of its ability to recover.