Melaleuca leiocarpa

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Pungent honey-myrtle
Melaleuca leiocarpa.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. leiocarpa
Binomial name
Melaleuca leiocarpa

Melaleuca leiocarpa, commonly known as pungent honey-myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is native to arid areas in parts of South Australia and Western Australia. It is an erect or branching shrub distinguished by its prickly foliage, yellowish flowers and, for a melaleuca, unusually large, smooth, roughly spherical fruits.

Contents

Description

Melaleuca leiocarpa sometimes grows to a height of 5 m (20 ft) and has rough, furrowed, dark grey or grey-black bark. The leaves are spirally arranged, 6–21.8 mm (0.2–0.9 in) long and 1.5–5 mm (0.06–0.2 in) wide, narrow lance-shaped or linear with a very short stalk and tapering to a sharp point. [1] [2]

Flowers occur at or near the ends of the branches in clusters of up to 3 to 14 individual flowers, the clusters sometimes reaching 15 mm (0.6 in) in length and 28 mm (1 in) in diameter. The stamens are yellow-lemon in colour, in five bundles around the flower, each bundle containing 11 to 22 stamens. Flowers usually appear between August and December and are followed by fruit which are spherical, woody capsules, 7–9 mm (0.3–0.4 in) diameter. [1] [2]

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca leiocarpa was first formally described in 1876 by Ferdinand von Mueller in "Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae". [3] [4] The specific epithet (leiocarpa) is derived from the ancient Greek words λεῖος (leîos) meaning "smooth" and καρπός (karpós) meaning "fruit", [5] referring to the smooth fruits. [2]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca leiocarpa occurs in the Gawler Ranges and northern Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It is also found in arid areas of eastern Western Australia [1] including the Avon Wheatbelt, Central Ranges, Coolgardie, Gascoyne, Geraldton Sandplains, Great Victoria Desert, Murchison, Pilbara and Yalgoo biogeographic regions. [6] It grows in rocky lateritic soils and red sand on hillsides, outcrops and sandplains. [7]

Conservation status

Melaleuca leiocarpa is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. [6]

Uses

Horticulture

This melaleuca is rarely cultivated but is a showy shrub in full flower and is suited to most soils. [1] It is hardy in well-drained conditions but requires full sun. [1] [8]

Essential oils

The oils from the leaves of this shrub are mostly monoterpenoids. [2]

Related Research Articles

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

Melaleuca dissitiflora, commonly known as creek tea–tree, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is native to Australia. It occurs in the drier parts of Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. It grows in places like sandy creek beds and rocky gorges but it may have potential as a more productive source of "tea tree" oil than the usual Melaleuca alternifolia. It is closely related and very similar to Melaleuca linophylla with its papery bark, narrow leaves and loose spikes of creamy-white flowers but its flowers are larger, the stamens are longer and there are more stamens per bundle than in that species.

<i>Melaleuca nematophylla</i> species of plant

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<i>Calothamnus chrysanthereus</i> species of plant

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<i>Calothamnus gilesii</i> species of plant

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

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<i>Melaleuca bisulcata</i> species of plant

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<i>Melaleuca calothamnoides</i> species of plant

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<i>Melaleuca cardiophylla</i> species of plant

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<i>Melaleuca concreta</i> species of 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 eleuterostachya</i> species of plant

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 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 glaberrima</i> species of plant

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 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 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>Calothamnus longissimus</i> species of plant

Calothamnus longissimus is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, spreading shrub with unusually long, fine leaves and which produces clusters of red flowers in spring.

Calothamnus microcarpus is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, either compact or spreading shrub with flat leaves and clusters of red flowers in spring.

Calothamnus oldfieldii is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, spreading shrub with needle-shaped leaves and clusters of red flowers with 5 petals and 5 stamen bundles.

<i>Phymatocarpus maxwellii</i> species of plant

Phymatocarpus maxwellii is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It resembles many small species of Melaleuca, mainly differing in the way its anthers are attached at the top of the stamens. In Phymatocarpus they are attached at their base and open at the other end through two slits. It is a shrub with many small heads of pink to purple flowers, often covering the plant for several weeks in October.

<i>Phymatocarpus porphyrocephalus</i> species of plant

Phymatocarpus porphyrocephalus is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It resembles many small species of Melaleuca, mainly differing in the way its anthers are attached at the top of the stamens. In Phymatocarpus they are attached at their base and open at the other end through two slits. It is a shrub with many small heads of pink to purple flowers fading to white, often covering the plant for several weeks in spring.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 166–167. ISBN   1876334983.
  2. 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. 221. ISBN   9781922137517.
  3. ↑ "Melaleuca leiocarpa". APNI. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  4. ↑ Mueller, Ferdinand (1876). Fragmenta phytographie Australiae. Melbourne. p. 55. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  5. ↑ Backer, C.A. (1936). Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs).
  6. 1 2 "Melaleuca leiocarpa". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  7. ↑ Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 395. ISBN   0646402439.
  8. ↑ Wrigley, John W.; Fagg, Murray (1983). Australian native plants : a manual for their propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping (2nd ed.). Sydney: Collins. p. 265. ISBN   0002165759.
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