Melaleuca conothamnoides

Last updated

Melaleuca conothamnoides
Melaleuca conothamnoides (leaves, flowers).JPG
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. conothamnoides
Binomial name
Melaleuca conothamnoides
Synonyms [2]

Melaleuca cordata var. ovata Ewart

Melaleuca conothamnoides is a shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is distinguished by its relatively large leaves, prominent oil glands and unusual bracts covering the flower buds before they open.

Contents

Description

Melaleuca conothamnoides is a woody, branching shrub about 1.5 m (5 ft) high and 1.0 m (3 ft) wide. Its leaves are arranged alternately, are lance-shaped to oblong or elliptic in shape, mostly 24–45 mm (0.9–2 in) long and 4–11 mm (0.2–0.4 in) wide, usually with prominent oil glands and 3 to 5 parallel veins. [3] [4]

The flowers are arranged in heads or short spikes, mostly at the ends of the branches which continue to grow after flowering but sometimes also in the upper leaf axils. The heads contain 8 to 15 groups of flowers in threes and are up to 35 mm (1 in) in diameter. The flower buds are covered with overlapping greenish-black bracts. The petals are 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long and fall off as the flowers open. The stamens are in five bundles around the edge of the flower, each bundle containing 7 to 9 purple or pinkish-mauve stamens. The main flowering season is from September to November [4] but has been recorded as early as August and as late as January. [3] After flowering, the fruit develop as roughly spherical or oval groups of woody capsules. [4] [3] [5]

Habit south of Tammin Melaleuca conothamnoides (habit).JPG
Habit south of Tammin
Bark Melaleuca conothamnoides (bark).JPG
Bark

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1964 by Charles Austin Gardner in the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia from a specimen he collected himself about 5 kilometres (3 mi) west of Tammin on a sandy, gravelly plain. [6] The specific epithet (conothamnoides) refers to the similarity of this species to one in the genus Conothamnus . [3] The ending -oides is a Latin suffix meaning "resembling" or "having the form of". [7]

Distribution and habitat

This melaleuca is mainly found in sandy and gravelly soils in the drier wheatbelt between Tammin and Morawa [4] [5] in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest, Murchison and Yalgoo biogeographic regions. [8] [9]

Conservation status

Melaleuca conothamoides is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. [9]

Related Research Articles

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

Melaleuca radula, commonly known as graceful honey-myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an open, spreading shrub with narrow leaves, profuse pink or purple flowers in late winter and smooth, almost spherical fruits.

Melaleuca penicula is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a rare species only known from the Fitzgerald River National Park and resembles Melaleuca eximia with its spikes of red flowers but its leaves and stamen bundles are different.

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

Melaleuca fabri is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It features strap-like leaves with distinct veins and spikes of pinkish flowers, the buds of which are covered with short, soft, silky hairs.

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

Melaleuca tinkeri is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is one of the smallest melaleucas and is distinguished by its warty, hairy leaves, heads of pinkish flowers in late winter to spring and its spherical fruiting clusters.

<i>Conothamnus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Conothamnus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. They are woody shrubs similar to melaleucas but differ in that their leaves are usually arranged in opposite pairs and the maximum number of seeds per fruit is three.

Melaleuca adenostyla is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a large, broom-like shrub to about 5 metres (16 ft) high with narrow leaves and cream-coloured flowers and which often grows in saline places.

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

Melaleuca tuberculata is a small, variable shrub in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. There are three distinct varieties of this species, each with a different leaf size and shape, different distributions and somewhat different habitat preferences.

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

Melaleuca laxiflora, commonly known as narrow-leaved paperbark, is a woody, spreading shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is distinguished by its loosely arranged, mostly lateral pink flower spikes and its smooth, fleshy, oil-dotted leaves. It is often cultivated because of its hardiness and attractive flowers.

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

Melaleuca leptospermoides is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with narrow leaves, pinkish or purple flowers and small fruit, and is similar to Melaleuca tuberculata except that it lacks brown bracts at the base of the flowers.

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

Melaleuca ciliosa is a small shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has bright or pale yellow flowers, an unusual calyx and leaves that are slightly hairy, especially around the edges.

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

Melaleuca densa is a shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a bushy shrub with profuse cream, yellow or greenish flowers and overlapping leaves on the youngest shoots.

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

Melaleuca filifolia, commonly called wiry honey-myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a woody, twiggy shrub with needle-shaped leaves, greenish flower buds, pink "pom-pom" flower heads and spherical clusters of fruits.

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

Melaleuca haplantha is a shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It was first described as a new species in 1988 when Bryan Barlow undertook a review of Melaleuca cuticularis and found it to include 13 separate species.

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

Melaleuca holosericea is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae which is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, rare shrub similar to other pink-flowered species in the Melaleuca scabra group.

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

Melaleuca platycalyx is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, twiggy shrub with short spikes of purple or pink flowers in spring. The distinguishing features of this species include petals that are bent downwards, an unusually large number of stamens in each flower and unusually large fruits arranged in alternating pairs.

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

Melaleuca psammophila is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub with narrow leaves, heads of purple, pink or mauve flowers and clusters of woody fruit. It is similar to M. bisulcata but differs from that species in characters such as the shape of its fruit, leaves and buds but like that species is an attractive, profusely flowering shrub suitable for cultivation as a garden plant.

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

Melaleuca seriata is a shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. In describing it, John Lindley wrote "Melaleuca seriata, parviceps, and trichophylla, are bushes, every twig of which is terminated by hemispherical heads of a brilliant pink." It is very similar to Melaleuca parviceps.

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

Melaleuca spathulata is a shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a well known garden shrub featuring dark green leaves against light-coloured foliage, many twisted branches and profuse heads of bright pink "pom pom" flower heads in spring or early summer.

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

Melaleuca spicigera is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has wavy, stem-clasping, blue-green leaves and spikes of pink flowers in spring.

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

Melaleuca subtrigona is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub with warty leaves and heads of "pom-pom" flowers in spring and early summer.

References

  1. "Melaleuca conothamnoides". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Melaleuca conothamnoides". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 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. 130. ISBN   9781922137517 . Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 64–65. ISBN   1876334983.
  5. 1 2 Corrick, Margaret G.; Fuhrer, Bruce A. (2009). Wildflowers of southern Western Australia (3rd ed.). [Kenthurst, N.S.W.]: Rosenberg Pub. p. 132. ISBN   9781877058844 . Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  6. "Melaleuca conothamnoides". APNI. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  7. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 483.
  8. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 392. ISBN   0646402439.
  9. 1 2 "Melaleuca conothamnoides". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.