Melaleuca irbyana

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Weeping paperbark
Melaleuca irbyana.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. irbyana
Binomial name
Melaleuca irbyana
Synonyms [1]

Melaleuca tamariscina subsp. irbyana(R.T.Baker) Barlow

Contents

Foliage and fruit Melaleuca irbyana fruit.jpg
Foliage and fruit
Habit near Coutts Crossing Melaleuca irbyana habit.jpg
Habit near Coutts Crossing

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.

Description

Melaleuca irbyana is a large shrub or small tree with thick, spongy, papery bark, growing to a height of 10 m (30 ft). It has a dense, rounded canopy and fine, weeping foliage. The leaves are stalkless, 2–7 mm (0.08–0.3 in) but usually less than 4 mm (0.2 in) long and 1–2 mm (0.04–0.08 in) wide, oval or narrowly oval in shape tapering to a point and pressed against the branchlets. [1]

The flowers are white and scented and arranged in spikes at, or near the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering. The spikes are up to 14 mm (0.6 in) in diameter and contain 3 to 12 individual flowers. The petals are 1.5–1.9 mm (0.06–0.07 in) long and fall off as the flower ages. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower, each bundle containing between 6 and 11 stamens. Flowers appear between September and January. The fruit are woody capsules, 3.5–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long, shaped like flattened spheres, arranged in loose clusters along the branches. Unlike many other melaleucas, the seeds are not retained in the capsules for more than a year. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca irbyana was first formally described in 1912 by Richard Thomas Baker in Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales . [6] The author noted that "This Melaleuca was discovered by Mr L.G. Irby, Museum Collector when collecting on the Lawrence Road, near Casino, where it is not common, in the swamps in that locality." [7] The specific epithet (irbyana) is "in honour of a forester, L.G. Irby (1883–1964), who collected the type specimen". [1]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca irbyana is found in only a few places in New South Wales and Queensland. In New South Wales those places include Coraki, Casino and Coutts Crossing. Only two populations are recorded in conservation areas, in Warragai Creek Nature Reserve and Bungawalbin National Park. In Queensland there are populations near Ipswich, Jimboomba and Waterford West. [4] [8] It grow in pure stands and in open eucalypt forest in clay, sandstone or alluvial soils. [3] [4]

Ecology

Melaleuca irbyana often occurs in association with eucalypt trees including E. crebra , E. melanophloia , E. moluccana or E. tereticornis . The understorey is sparse and comprises grasses, sedges and herbs with few shrubs and vines. Swamp paperbark forest provides habitat for a range of plants and animals including the nationally threatened slender milkvine plant ( Marsdenia coronata ). It provides shelter and nesting sites for a range of bird species and on the ground, fallen logs provide shelter for reptiles and temporary ponds provide breeding habitat for frogs and other pond life. Koalas, echidnas and wallabies also occur in this forest association. [9]

Conservation staus

This species is classified as "endangered" in under the New South Wales Government Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 [4] and the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992 . [10] Melaleuca irbyana forest is classified as "critically endangered" by the Australian government. [11]

Related Research Articles

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

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 leucadendra</i> Species of tree

Melaleuca leucadendra, commonly known as weeping paperbark, long-leaved paperbark or white paperbark is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is widespread in northern Australia, Southeast Asia, New Guinea and the Torres Strait Islands. It is a tree, sometimes growing to more than 20 m (70 ft) with a trunk covered with thick, white, papery bark and weeping thinner branches. It has a long flowering season, can flower at almost any time of the year and is often grown as a tree in parks and on roadsides. It was the first melaleuca to be described and was described from a specimen growing in Indonesia.

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

Melaleuca viminalis, commonly known as weeping bottlebrush, or creek bottlebrush is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. It is a multi-trunked, large shrub or tree with hard bark, often pendulous foliage and large numbers of bright red bottlebrush flowers in spring and summer. It is possibly the most commonly cultivated melaleuca in gardens and its cultivars are often grown in many countries.

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

Melaleuca rhaphiophylla, commonly known as swamp paperbark is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south west of Western Australia. It has narrow, needle-like leaves and profuse spikes of white or yellowish flowers at variable times throughout the year. As its common name suggests, it is usually found in salt marshes, or swamps or along watercourses and occurs over wide areas of the south-west.

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

Melaleuca viridiflora, commonly known as broad-leaved paperbark is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is native to woodlands, swamps and streams of monsoonal areas of northern Australia and New Guinea. It is usually a small tree with an open canopy, papery bark and spikes of cream, yellow, green or red flowers.

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

Melaleuca cuticularis, commonly known as the saltwater paperbark is a tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is native to the south-west of Western Australia. There is also a disjunct population on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. It is distinguished from other melaleucas by its unusual fruits and very white, papery bark.

<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 uncinata</i> Species of plant

Melaleuca uncinata, commonly known as broombush, broom honeymyrtle or brushwood, is a plant in the paperbark family native to southern Australia. It is harvested from the wild, and grown in plantations, for broombush fencing. The Noongar names for the plant are kwytyat and yilbarra.

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

Melaleuca decora, commonly known as the white feather honeymyrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is native to eastern Australia. It is a large shrub to small tree with papery bark, lance-shaped leaves and sweet-smelling, creamy-coloured flowers in summer. It grows in near-coastal forest and swamps in New South Wales and Queensland.

<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 dealbata</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca dealbata, commonly known as karnbor or blue paperbark, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is native to tropical areas in northern Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia. It is a medium to large leafy tree, growing in wet areas such as on the edges of coastal lagoons. It has papery bark, relatively large, blue-green leaves and spikes of cream-coloured flowers over a long period.

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

Melaleuca argentea, commonly known as the silver cajuput, silver cadjeput or silver-leaved paperbark is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to northern Australia. It is a common tree along river banks or around swamps in the tropics. It has papery bark and weeping foliage and has been the subject of important scientific research.

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

Melaleuca biconvexa is a tree or shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to coastal areas of New South Wales. The leaves have a distinctive, wing-like shape and the flowers are in white or cream-coloured heads at the ends of its branches. It is classified as a vulnerable species.

<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 groveana</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca groveana, commonly known as Grove's paperbark is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. It is an uncommon species with relatively large heads of white flowers in spring, the styles of which are significantly longer than the stamens.

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

Melaleuca tamariscina, commonly known as bush-house paperbark or tamarix honey-myrtle is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to central Queensland in Australia. It grows to the height of a small tree with small, scale-like leaves that are pressed against the branches, and has a papery bark and a weeping habit.

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

Melaleuca formosa, commonly known as Kingaroy bottlebrush or cliff bottlebrush is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in Queensland and peripherally in New South Wales, Australia. It is a shrub with weeping branches and spikes of lemon-coloured flowers in spring.

Ecology of Sydney

The ecology of Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia, is diverse for its size, where it would mainly feature biomes such as grassy woodlands and some sclerophyll forests, with a few pockets of mallee shrublands, subtropical and temperate rainforests (evergreen), heathlands, and wetlands. The combination of climate, topography, moisture, and soil influence the dispersion of these ecological communities across a height gradient from 0 to 200 metres. There are many hiking trails, paved and unpaved roads for exploring the many different biomes and ecosystems.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 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. 206. ISBN   9781922137517.
  2. Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 150–151. ISBN   1876334983.
  3. 1 2 Wilson, Peter. "Melaleuca groveana". Plantnet: Royal botanic garden Sydney. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Weeping paperbark - profile". NSW government department of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  5. "Melaleuca irbyana". Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Queensland. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  6. "Melaleuca irbyana". APNI. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  7. Baker, Richard Thomas (1912). "On two unrecorded Myrtaceous plants from New South Wales". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 37: 586. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  8. "Guideline for managing land development impacts on Melaleuca irbyana" (PDF). Logan city council. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  9. "Nationally threatened species and ecological communities" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  10. "Biodiversity - priority species and habitats - endangered community conservation - swamp tea-tree forest". South east Queensland catchments. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  11. "Swamp tea-tree (Melaleuca irbyana) forest of south-east Queensland" . Retrieved 5 April 2015.