Melaleuca hypericifolia

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Hillock bush
Melaleuca hypericifolia-IMG 9178.jpg
Cultivated specimen, Quito, Ecuador.
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. hypericifolia
Binomial name
Melaleuca hypericifolia
Synonyms [1]
  • Cajuputi hypericifolia(Sm.) Skeels
  • Metrosideros hypericifolia(Sm.) Salisb.
  • Myrtoleucodendron hypericifolium(Sm.) Kuntze

Melaleuca hypericifolia, commonly known as hillock bush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, genus Melaleuca and is endemic to New South Wales in Australia. It has large, orange to red flower spikes and consequently is a commonly cultivated species. In 1797, James Edward Smith described the plant as:

Contents

"The most beautiful of the genus. It grows in swampy ground ...is plentiful in the English gardens, and was generally taken for an Hypericum, till it lately produced, in several collections near London, its elegant flowers."

Description

Melaleuca hypericifolia is a large woody shrub or small tree growing to 6 m (20 ft) in height, with greyish papery bark. Its leaves are arranged in alternate pairs (decussate), 10–40 mm (0.4–2 in) long, 4–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) wide, narrow elliptic in shape with a central groove on the upper surface. [2] [3] [4]

The flowers are red to orange, arranged in a spike, usually on the older wood. The spike is up to 60 mm (2 in) in both diameter and length and contains up to 40 individual flowers. The petals are 4.5–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and fall off as the flower ages. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower with 16 to 25 stamens per bundle. The flower spikes appear in spring and summer and are followed by fruit which are woody, oval-shaped capsules 5–6.5 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long with the sepals remaining as teeth around the rim. As the plant ages, the capsules become compressed together. [2] [3] [4]

Fruit Melaleuca hypericifolia fruit.jpg
Fruit

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described by English botanist James Edward Smith in 1797 in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London from material collected in "swampy ground" in New South Wales. [5] [6] The species name references the similarity of the leaves to those of species of Hypericum . [7]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca hypericifolia occurs in damp areas of sandy heath and woodland in mostly coastal areas from Bermagui to Sydney and inland as far as the Blue Mountains. [4] The species is naturalised in South Australia and Victoria. [4]

Use in horticulture

Hillock bush is a hardy, adaptable and attractive shrub that has been known in gardens for many years. [3] It is moderately frost hardy, although the flowers tend to be hidden inside the shrub. [2] It is a dense screen plant, unless pruned to display the flowers. [8] It has caused problems in some areas where it has spread from gardens into bushland in other states and care should be taken with the species in southern Victoria. [9] Two cultivars have been developed:

Related Research Articles

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Melaleuca armillaris, commonly known as bracelet honey myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is native to South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania in south-eastern Australia. It is a hardy, commonly grown species, often used as a fast-growing screen plant, but it also has the potential to become a weed. It has become naturalised in Western Australia and parts of Victoria. In its natural state, it grows on coastal cliffs and along estuaries.

<i>Melaleuca linariifolia</i> Species of tree

Melaleuca linariifolia is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is commonly known as snow-in-summer, narrow-leaved paperbark, flax-leaved paperbark and in the language of the Gadigal people as budjur. A hardy plant, it flowers prolifically in late spring or summer, making it a popular garden shrub or small tree in temperate places. Melaleuca trichostachya is a similar species but its leaves are arranged differently and the fruits have projecting valves.

<i>Melaleuca styphelioides</i> Species of tree

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

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

Melaleuca lanceolata commonly known as black paperbark, moonah, Rottnest Island teatree and western black tea tree is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is native to Australia where it occurs in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. It is a densely foliaged tree with rough bark, which flowers prolifically in summer.

<i>Melaleuca ericifolia</i> Species of tree

Melaleuca ericifolia, commonly known as swamp paperbark, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and the genus Melaleuca, native to south-eastern Australia. It is a rather variable species and some specimens resemble Melaleuca armillaris but its papery bark and smaller, more prolific flower heads distinguish it from that species. It often grows in swampy areas and the draining and clearing of these has reduced the numbers of the species, especially around Port Philip Bay near Melbourne. It is also similar to Melaleuca pustulata, a Tasmanian endemic, but that species only grows in dry heath.

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

Melaleuca squarrosa, commonly known as scented paperbark, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to south eastern parts of Australia, especially Tasmania. It is an attractive shrub with dense foliage and arching branches and it flowers profusely in spring or early summer, bearing spikes of perfumed yellow to white flowers.

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

Melaleuca linearifolia, commonly known as netted bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales in Australia.. It is a shrub with narrow, pointed leaves and red flower spikes in spring or summer.

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

Melaleuca williamsii is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to an area between north-eastern New South Wales and south eastern Queensland in Australia. It is a distinctive shrub with stiff branches, silvery new growth, prickly leaves and spikes of purple flowers in late spring. It is classified as a vulnerable species under the Australian Government Endangered Species Protection Act.

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

Melaleuca subulata is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to south eastern Australia.. It is a small, spreading shrub with hard bark, dense foliage, cylindrical leaves and spikes of dark crimson flowers in summer.

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

Melaleuca brachyandra, commonly known as prickly bottlebrush or scarlet bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia in Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with narrow leaves and showy red and green flowers making it an ideal ornamental plant in temperate areas.

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

Melaleuca squamea, commonly known as swamp honey-myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to south eastern parts of Australia, especially Tasmania. It is an erect shrub growing in damp and swampy places with crowded leaves and many heads of pink to purple flowers in spring.

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

Melaleuca thymifolia, commonly known as thyme honey-myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is native to eastern Australia. It is often noticed in spring, with its attractive, purple flowers and is one of the most commonly cultivated melaleucas. A fragrant shrub, it usually grows to about 1.0 m (3 ft) tall, has corky bark and slender, wiry stems.

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

Melaleuca nodosa, commonly known as the prickly-leaved paperbark, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with narrow, sometimes needle-like leaves and profuse heads of yellow flowers as early as April or as late as January.

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

Melaleuca deanei, commonly known as Deane's paperbark, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales in Australia. It is a shrub with flaky bark, narrow oval leaves and spikes of white flowers in spring and summer. The species only exists in a few isolated populations and is classified as vulnerable.

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

Melaleuca irbyana, commonly known as weeping paperbark, bushhouse paperbark and swamp paperbark, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. It is a shrub or small tree, often growing in pure stands in poorly drained areas. Its distribution is limited and it has been classified as an endangered species under legislation in both states and the forest as critically endangered under Australian government legislation.

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

Melaleuca chisholmii commonly known as Burra bottlebrush is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a shrub with rough bark, an open habit and spiky foliage but in winter has bright red flower spikes tipped with yellow.

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

Melaleuca flammea, commonly known as tapering-leaved bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. It is a shrub with broad, lance-shaped leaves which have wavy edges and taper gradually to a fine point. In spring it has typical bottlebrush flowers whose fiery colour gives the species its name.

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

Melaleuca flavovirens, commonly known as green bottlebrush is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area near the New South Wales–Queensland border in Australia. It is a stiff shrub, distinguished by its silvery new growth and spikes of greenish flowers with yellow tips.

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

Melaleuca salicina, commonly known as willow bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to eastern Australia. Some Australian state herbaria continue to use the name Callistemon salignus, a name that is accepted by the Australian Plant Census. It is a shrub or small tree with soft foliage, pink new growth, white papery bark and spikes of usually white or creamy bottlebrush flowers in spring.

References

  1. 1 2 "Melaleuca hypericifolia". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Brophy, Joseph J.; Craven, Lyndley A.; Doran, John C. (2013). Melaleucas : their botany, essential oils and uses. Canberra: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. p. 201. ISBN   9781922137517.
  3. 1 2 3 Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 144–145. ISBN   1876334983.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Wilson, Peter G. "Melaleuca hypericifolia". PlantNET - New South Wales Flora Online. Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  5. "Melaleuca hypericifolia". APNI. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  6. Smith, James Edward (1797). "Botanical Characters of Some Plants of the Natural Order of Myrti.". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 3: 279. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  7. Robinson, Les. Field guide to the native plants of Sydney. Kangaroo Press. ISBN   9780731812110.
  8. Wrigley, John W.; Fagg, Murray (1983). Australian native plants : a manual for their propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping (2 ed.). Sydney: Collins. ISBN   0002165759.
  9. "Melaleuca hypericifolia". Australian Native Plant Society (Australia). Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  10. "Melaleuca hypericifolia 'Snapper Point'". APNI. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  11. "Melaleuca hypericifolia 'Ulladulla Beacon'". APNI. Retrieved 12 May 2015.