Melaleuca acacioides

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Coastal paperbark
Melaleuca acacioides 01.JPG
Melaleuca acacioides near mangroves and Cooktown Cemetery, Queensland
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. acacioides
Binomial name
Melaleuca acacioides
Synonyms [1]

Melaleuca acacioides, commonly known as coastal paperbark [2] and as lunyamad by the Bardi people, [3] is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is native to the far north of Australia and the island of New Guinea. It is closely related to Melaleuca alsophila and Melaleuca citrolens , being differentiated from them by the number of flowers in a group. In this species, they are in groups of three (called triads). It is a small to medium-sized tree, sometimes with several trunks when growing in the open. It usually grows in areas with saline soils that are regularly flooded, often near mangroves.

Contents

Distribution of M. acadioides Melaleuca acacioides.jpg
Distribution of M. acadioides

Description

Melaleuca acacioides is a tree, usually with white or grey papery bark, sometimes growing as high as 10 m (30 ft). The young growth is covered with rather long, soft hairs. Its leaves are arranged alternately on the stems, and are 23–70 mm (0.9–3 in) long and 6–14 mm (0.2–0.6 in) wide, glabrous when mature, narrow oval in shape, sometimes with a small point on the end and with many distinct oil glands. [4]

The flowers are white to cream and arranged in spikes, sometimes at the tips of the branches and sometimes in the leaf axils. Each spike contains 2 to 10 groups of flowers in threes. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower and each bundle contains 6 or 7 stamens. Flowers appear in winter and spring and are followed by woody capsules 1.6–2.3 mm (0.06–0.09 in) long grouped in clusters along the stem. [4] [5]

Flowers Melaleuca acacioides flowers.jpg
Flowers
Foliage Melaleuca acacioides 02.JPG
Foliage
Fruit Melaleuca acacioides 03.JPG
Fruit

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca acacioides was first described in 1862 by Ferdinand von Mueller in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae . [6] [7] The specific epithet (acacioides) is a reference to the similarity of the leaves to those of some Acacia species. [4] The ending -oides is a Latin suffix meaning "resembling" or "having the form of". [8]

In 1986, the genus Melaleuca was reviewed by Bryan Barlow and Melaleuca acacioides was separated into three groups - a new species, Melaleuca citrolens and two subspecies: [9]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca acacioides occurs from western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory to Cape York Peninsula in Australia, and on the island of New Guinea. It grows on the landward side of mangroves and samphire in slightly saline soils. [4]

Uses

Traditional uses

Aboriginal people used the leaves of Melaleuca acacioides (and of M. argentea and M. leucadendra ) as flavouring in cooking. "Bee bread" (produced from pollen) and honey were foods collected from native bee hives prevalent in swamp forests, including those of Melaleuca acacioides. [12] [13]

Essential oils

Selinenes, which are an important part of celery seed oil, are major components of the essential oils extracted from the leaves of this species. [4] [14]

Other uses

The timber of Melaleuca acadioides is strong and dark coloured. [15] The trunks may have a use as small poles and as fuel. Melaleuca acacioides may also be useful as a windbreak in difficult coastal situations. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<i>Melaleuca acuminata</i> Species of plant

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<i>Melaleuca calothamnoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca calothamnoides is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a relatively small area on the west coast of Western Australia. It has attractive red and green flowering spikes and soft foliage but has proven to be difficult to grow in gardens.

<i>Melaleuca cardiophylla</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca cardiophylla, commonly known as tangling melaleuca or umbrella bush is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the west and south-west of Western Australia. It is a dense, prickly shrub with heart-shaped leaves, stamens that are joined in unusually long claw-like bundles, and distinctive, warty fruits.

<i>Melaleuca concreta</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca concreta is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The species name (concreta) refers to the way the fruits are tightly packed together.

<i>Melaleuca depressa</i> Species of shrub

Melaleuca depressa is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, bushy shrub with clusters of yellow or cream flowers on the ends of its branches in spring.

<i>Melaleuca eleuterostachya</i> Species of shrub

Melaleuca eleuterostachya is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Western Australia and South Australia. It is a shrub or tree with arching branches, narrow leaves and small spikes of cream or white flowers.

<i>Melaleuca filifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Melaleuca glaberrima</i> Species of shrub

Melaleuca glaberrima is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a dense, spreading shrub with needle shaped, but not sharp leaves and profuse pink or mauve flowers.

<i>Melaleuca lasiandra</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca lasiandra is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is native to the northern inland of Australia. Its foliage is covered with soft, silky hairs giving the leaves a silvery-grey appearance and even the filaments of the stamens are hairy.

Melaleuca linophylla is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is native to the north-west of Western Australia. It is a bushy shrub with narrow leaves and spikes of cream-coloured flowers in spring. It is distinguished by its fruits which are much more urn-shaped than those of other melaleucas.

<i>Melaleuca megacephala</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca megacephala is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is native to the south-west of Western Australia. It is distinguished by its large, hemispherical heads of yellow and white flowers on the ends of the branches and the overlapping brown bracts under them.

<i>Melaleuca pauperiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca pauperiflora, commonly known as boree, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is native to the southern parts of South Australia and Western Australia. It is distinguished by its short, thick leaves and small but profuse heads of white or cream flowers. There are three subspecies.

<i>Melaleuca fulgens <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> steedmanii</i> Subspecies of flowering plant

Melaleuca fulgens subsp. steedmanii, commonly known as the scarlet honey myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. In 1990, the species Melaleuca fulgens was separated into 3 subspecies. Of the two subspecies occurring in the south-west, this one has the narrower distribution, occurring mainly near Geraldton. As with the other subspecies, this one is notable for its showy flowers which are usually red but its foliage and fruits are also attractive features.

Melaleuca fulgens subsp. corrugata, commonly known as the wrinkled honey myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to an area near the border between Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. In 1990, the species Melaleuca fulgens was separated into 3 subspecies. This subspecies has a disjunct distribution but is nevertheless very similar to the other two, only differing the colour of the flowers and small differences in the leaf shape and length of the stamens. As with the other subspecies, this one is notable for its showy flowers which are usually a shade of pink to mauve but its foliage and fruits are also attractive features.

References

  1. 1 2 "Melaleuca acacioides". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "Melaleuca acacioides". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. ↑ Smith, Moya; Kalotas, Arpad C. (1985). "Bardi Plants: An Annotated List of Plants and Their Use by the Bardi Aborigines of Dampierland, in North-western Australia" (PDF). Records of the Western Australian Museum. 12 (3): 356. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Brophy, Joseph J.; Craven, Lyndley A.; Doran, John C. (2013). Melaleucas : their botany, essential oils and uses (PDF). Canberra: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. p. 65. ISBN   9781922137517 . Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  5. ↑ Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. p. 14. ISBN   1876334983.
  6. ↑ "Melaleuca acacioides". APNI. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  7. ↑ von Mueller, Ferdinand (1862). Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae (Volume 3). Melbourne. p. 116. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  8. ↑ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 483.
  9. ↑ Barlow, Bryan A. (1986). "Contributions to a revision of Melaleuca (Myrtaceae): 1—3". Australian Systematic Botany. 9 (2): 163. doi:10.1071/BRU9860163 . Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Melaleuca acacioides subsp.acacioides". APNI. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  11. ↑ "Melaleuca acacioides subsp. alsophila". APNI. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  12. ↑ Brophy, Joseph J.; Craven, Lyndley A.; Doran, John C. (2013). Melaleucas : their botany, essential oils and uses (PDF). Canberra: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. p. 33. ISBN   9781922137517. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  13. ↑ Williams, Cheryll (2010). Medicinal plants in Australia. Kenthurst, N.S.W.: Rosenberg Publishing. p. 200. ISBN   9781877058790 . Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  14. 1 2 Southwell, Ian; Lowe, Robert (1999). Tea Tree the Genus Melaleuca. London: CRC Press. p. 241. ISBN   0203303601 . Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  15. ↑ Maiden, Joseph Henry (1889). The Useful Native Plants of Australia. Ludgate Hill: Trubner and Co. p. 568. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
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