Melaleuca orbicularis

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Melaleuca orbicularis
Melaleuca orbicularis foliage, flowers and fruit.jpg
Melaleuca orbicularis foliage, flowers and fruit
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. orbicularis
Binomial name
Melaleuca orbicularis

Melaleuca orbicularis is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is similar to Melaleuca cordata with its pinkish "pom-pom" heads of flowers but its leaves are smaller, almost circular compared to the heart shaped leaves of the other species.

Contents

Description

Melaleuca orbicularis is an erect shrub growing to 2.5 m (8 ft) tall. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are 3.5–8 mm (0.1–0.3 in) long, 2–10.5 mm (0.08–0.4 in) wide, heart-shaped to almost circular. [1] [2]

The flowers are a shade of pink to purple and are arranged in heads on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering and sometimes also in the upper leaf axils. The heads are up to 30 mm (1 in) in diameter with 2 to 8 groups of flowers in threes. The petals are 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long and fall off soon after the flower opens. The outer surface of the floral cup (the hypanthium) is hairy and there are five bundles of stamens around the flower, each with 5 to 12 stamens. Flowering occurs from July to January and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules, 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long, usually in tight, oval-shaped clusters along the stem. [1] [2]

Melaleuca orbicularis growing near Bindi Bindi Melaleuca orbicularis habit.jpg
Melaleuca orbicularis growing near Bindi Bindi
M. orbicularis flower detail Melaleuca orbicularis flower detail.jpg
M. orbicularis flower detail

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca orbicularis was first formally described in 1999 by Lyndley Craven in Australian Systematic Botany from a specimen collected near Bindi Bindi. [3] [4] The specific epithet (orbicularis) is a Latin word meaning "circular" [5] referring to the circular leaves. [1]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca orbicularis occurs in and between the Coorong, Wongan Hills and Cowcowing districts [1] in the Avon Wheatbelt, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest and Warren biogeographic regions. [6] It grows in a range of vegetation associations in sand over sandstone and laterite. [1] [7]

Conservation

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

Related Research Articles

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

Melaleuca amydra is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is similar to Melaleuca ryeae with its small, compact form, oval leaves and "pom-pom" heads of pink to purple flower heads on the ends of the branches in spring.

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

Melaleuca barlowii is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is similar to a number of other Western Australian melaleucas such as M. conothamnoides with its purple pom-pom flower heads but is a more erect shrub with different leaves and the fruiting clusters have a different shape.

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

Melaleuca beardii is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is similar to a number of other Western Australian melaleucas such as M. trichophylla with its purple pom-pom flower heads but unlike others, the tips of its leaves are rounded rather than pointed.

Melaleuca boeophylla is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is similar to a number of other Western Australian melaleucas such as M. filifolia with its purple pom-pom flower heads but its leaves are shorter and oval in cross-section.

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

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

Melaleuca carrii is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub similar to Melaleuca pentagona, with "pom-pom" heads of pinkish flowers and sharply pointed leaves but it is generally smaller, lacks a groove in its leaves and retains its petals on the flowers for longer than that species.

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

Melaleuca clavifolia is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub similar to Melaleuca tinkeri, with "pom-pom" heads of pinkish flowers and soft, silky hairs on the new growth but it has larger flower heads and its leaves are shorter, more club-shaped and have less distinct oil glands.

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

Melaleuca calyptroides is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is similar to a number of other Western Australian melaleucas such as M. hollidayi with its almost cylindrical leaves, purple pom-pom flower heads and low growth habit but it has longer, wartier leaves and fewer flowers in the inflorescences. The floral cup and woody capsule from which it develops are longer than those of similar melaleucas.Melaleuca calyptroides close.jpg

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

Melaleuca eurystoma is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a small shrub with pale lemon to greenish flowers and egg-shaped to almost oval leaves.

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

Melaleuca glena is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is similar to the commonly cultivated Melaleuca nesophila with its purple "pom-pom" flower heads but is a smaller shrub with the inflorescences much more often on the sides of the branches and only occasionally on the ends.

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

Melaleuca hnatiukii is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a medium to large shrub with arching branches, prickly tipped leaves and creamy-white heads of flowers in spring or early summer.

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

Melaleuca huttensis is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, woody shrub with elliptic leaves, mostly crowded near the ends of the branches which are tipped with heads of white or yellow flowes during spring and early summer. It is a threatened species, potentially endangered by the construction of the Oakajee Port near Geraldton.

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

Melaleuca leuropoma is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small to medium-sized shrub which flowers over an extended period with flower colour varying from purple to yellow or white. The glossy, often brown petals covering the flower buds are also an unusual characteristic of this species.

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

Melaleuca linguiformis is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a shrub with hairy new growth, small leaves and heads of white flowers similar to Melaleuca teuthidoides shorter sepals and more stamens in each flower.

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

Melaleuca osullivanii is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It was first formally described in 2004 after a review of the broombush group, Melaleuca uncinata. It differs from others in the group by having leaves that are fine and circular in cross section. The closest other broombrush is Melaleuca hamata whose leaves are 0.8–1.6 mm (0.03–0.06 in) in diameter compared to 0.7–0.9 mm (0.03–0.04 in) for this species.

Melaleuca procera is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, spindly shrub with cylinder-shaped leaves and heads of pinkish flowers in later spring or early summer.

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

Melaleuca ryeae is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub, closely resembling Melaleuca amydra with its small leaves and profuse heads of pink to purple flowers but M.amydra has narrower leaves and does not have spherical clusters of fruits.

Melaleuca similis is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub, similar to Melaleuca stramentosa with its narrow, almost cylindrical leaves and heads of pink to purple flowers but lacks the matted, silky hairs on the young leaves and outer edge of the flower cup.

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

Melaleuca papillosa is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is one of the smallest species of Melaleuca, distinguished by its narrow, usually hairy, pimply leaves, small heads of pink to purple flowers surrounded by silky hairs and scattered rather than clustered fruits.

Melaleuca stramentosa is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, bushy shrub similar to Melaleuca similis with its cylindrical leaves and heads of pink to purple flowers but differs in have matted, woolly hairs around the flowers and on the young leaves.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 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. 257. ISBN   9781922137517.
  2. 1 2 Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 66–67. ISBN   1876334983.
  3. "Melaleuca orbicularis". APNI. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  4. Craven, L. A.; Lepschi, B. J. (1999). "Enumeration of the species and infraspecific taxa of Melaleuca (Myrtaceae) occurring in Australia and Tasmania". Australian Systematic Botany. 12 (6): 893. doi:10.1071/SB98019.
  5. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 205.
  6. 1 2 "Melaleuca orbicularis". 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. 396. ISBN   0646402439.