Melaleuca pallida

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Lemon bottlebrush
Melaleuca pallida leaves and flowers.jpg
Melaleuca pallida
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. pallida
Binomial name
Melaleuca pallida
Synonyms [1]
  • Callistemon pallidus(Bonpl.) DC.
  • Metrosideros pallidaBonpl.

Melaleuca pallida, commonly known as lemon bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. (Some Australian state herbaria use the name Callistemon pallidus.) [2] It is an upright shrub with thin, spreading branches, silvery new growth and pale yellow, sometimes pinkish bottlebrush flowers.

Contents

Description

Melaleuca pallida is a shrub or tree growing to 8 m (30 ft) tall, with fibrous or papery bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are 20–79 mm (0.8–3 in) long, 4–17 mm (0.2–0.7 in) wide, flat or broadly v-shaped, narrow elliptic to egg-shaped with the narrow end towards the base and with a small point at the end. There is a distinct mid-vein, 6-16 indistinct side veins and many distinct oil glands. [3] [4] [5]

The flowers are a shade of cream to yellow, occasionally pinkish-red and are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering and sometimes also on the sides of the branches. The spikes are 20–45 mm (0.8–2 in) in diameter with 15 to 50 individual flowers. The petals are 2.9–6 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and fall off as the flower ages and there are 34–70 stamens in each flower. Flowering occurs from October to February and is followed by fruit that are woody, cup-shaped capsules, 3.9–6.6 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long. [3] [4] [5]

Habit in the Gibraltar Range National Park Melaleuca pallida habit(1).jpg
Habit in the Gibraltar Range National Park

Taxonomy and naming

The lemon bottlebrush was first formally described in 1816 by Aimé Bonpland, who gave it the name Metrosideros pallida and published the description in Description des plantes rares cultivées à Malmaison et à Navarre. [6] [7] In 1828, de Candolle changed the name to Callistemon pallidus [8] and in 2006 Lyndley Craven changed the name to Melaleuca pallida. [9] [10] The specific epithet (pallida) is a Latin word meaning “pale” [11] referring to the pale flower colour. [3]

Callistemon pallidus is regarded as a synonym of Melaleuca pallida by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [12]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca pallida occurs from the Border Ranges area in far south eastern Queensland, through the ranges and slopes of New South Wales to eastern Victoria. It is also present in all but the far west of Tasmania and on some Bass Strait islands. [3] [4] It grows in streams and wet, rocky slopes. [3] [4]

Use in horticulture

Melaleuca pallida is sometimes cultivated as Callistemon pallidus. It is a hardy plant, adaptable to many soils but needs full sun. [13]

Related Research Articles

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

Callistemon is a genus of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae, first described as a genus in 1814. The entire genus is endemic to Australia but widely cultivated in many other regions and naturalised in scattered locations. Their status as a separate taxon is in doubt, some authorities accepting that the difference between callistemons and melaleucas is not sufficient for them to be grouped in a separate genus.

<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 pachyphylla</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca pachyphylla, commonly known as wallum bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to near-coastal regions of New South Wales and Queensland in Australia.. It is a medium-sized shrub with a straggling habit and red, or sometimes greenish, bottlebrush flowers in summer.

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

Melaleuca paludicola, commonly known as river bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with flexible, often drooping branches, pinkish new growth and spikes of cream, pale yellow, or sometimes pink flowers in summer.

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

Melaleuca orophila, commonly known as needle bottlebrush or Flinders Ranges bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the eastern part of South Australia.. It is a medium-sized shrub with sharp-pointed, needle-like leaves and bright red bottlebrush flower spikes.

<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 recurva</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca recurva, commonly known as Tinaroo bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to higher areas of far northern Queensland in Australia.. It is a shrub with spikes of red flowers tipped with yellow in most months of the year and which often has leaves with their edges curled under.

<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 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.

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

Melaleuca glauca, commonly known as Albany bottlebrush is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tall shrub with glaucous leaves and spikes of red flowers in spring.

Melaleuca montis-zamia is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the Springsure district in Queensland, Australia. It is a shrub with red bottlebrush flowers.

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

Melaleuca pearsonii, commonly known as Blackdown bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland in Australia. It is a small, spreading but compact shrub with hard bark, soft foliage and profuse spikes of bottlebrush flowers in spring and summer.

Melaleuca quercina, commonly known as Oakey bottlebrush is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area of Queensland in Australia. It is small tree with dark, corky bark and spikes of yellow, cream or pink bottlebrush flowers in spring and summer.

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

Melaleuca rugulosa, commonly known as scarlet bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to South Australia and Victoria in Australia. It is a shrub with an open straggly habit, stiff, sharply pointed leaves and bright red bottlebrush flowers tipped with yellow in summer.

<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.

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

Melaleuca serpentina is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the Barraba district in Australia. It is a shrub with yellow or creamy-green bottlebrush flowers. It is similar to Melaleuca citrina but can be distinguished from that species by its flower colour and its shorter stamens.

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

Melaleuca shiressii is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in New South Wales in Australia. It is rare shrub or small tree with pale, papery bark, sharp-pointed leaves and spikes of white to pale cream bottlebrush flowers in spring and summer.

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

Melaleuca virens, commonly known as lime bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Tasmania in Australia. It is one of only two melaleucas endemic to Tasmania, the other being Melaleuca pustulata although another six also occur there. A small to medium shrub growing mostly in subalpine areas, it has hard, leathery, sharply pointed leaves and spikes of yellow or greenish flowers in early summer,

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

Melaleuca wimmerensis, commonly known as the Wimmera bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the state of Victoria in Australia.. It is a recently (2008) discovered shrub, often with many stems arising from a lignotuber and is similar to Melaleuca paludicola but has pink or mauve flowers tipped with yellow anthers over a short period between October and early December.

References

  1. 1 2 "Melaleuca pallida". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  2. ↑ Udovicic, Frank; Spencer, Roger (2012). "New combinations in Callistemon (Myrtaceae)" (PDF). Muelleria. 30 (1): 23–25. doi:10.5962/p.292240. S2CID   251007557 . Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  3. 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. 266. ISBN   9781922137517.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Spencer, Roger; Lumley, Peter F. "Callistemon pallidus". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: Plantnet. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  5. 1 2 Mullins, Effie. "Callistemon pallidus". Australian National Botanic Garden. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Metrosideros pallida". APNI. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  7. ↑ Bonpland, Aimé (1816). Description des plantes rares cultivées à Malmaison et à Navarre. Paris. pp. 101–102. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  8. ↑ "Callistemon pallidus". APNI. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  9. ↑ "Melaleuca pallida". APNI. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  10. ↑ Craven, Lyn A. (2006). "New Combinations in Melaleuca for Australian Species of Callistemon (Myrtaceae)". Novon. 16 (4): 472. doi:10.3417/1055-3177(2006)16[468:NCIMFA]2.0.CO;2. S2CID   84723155 . Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  11. ↑ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 584.
  12. ↑ "Callistemon pallidus". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  13. ↑ Wrigley, John W.; Fagg, Murray (1983). Australian native plants : a manual for their propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping (2nd ed.). Sydney: Collins. p. 193. ISBN   0002165759.
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