Melaleuca pauciflora

Last updated

Melaleuca pauciflora
Melaleuca pauciflora.jpg
Melaleuca pauciflora near Ashendon
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. pauciflora
Binomial name
Melaleuca pauciflora
Synonyms [1]

Melaleuca leptoclada Benth.
Myrtoleucodendron leptocladum(Benth.) Kuntze
Myrtoleucodendron pauciflorum (Turcz.) Kuntze

Contents

Melaleuca pauciflora is a shrub in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. Its decussate leaf arrangement and its small heads of white flowers on the sides of its branches are diagnostic. This is probably the least spectacular of all the melaleucas.

Description

Melaleuca pauciflora is a bushy shrub usually growing to a height of about 3 m (10 ft). Its leaves are in alternate pairs, the pairs at right angles to the ones above and below so that there are four rows of leaves along the stems. The leaves are 3–12 mm (0.1–0.5 in) long and 0.9–2.0 mm (0.04–0.08 in) wide, glabrous and elliptic in shape but tapering towards the end. [2]

The flowers are white, in small heads up to 6 mm (0.2 in) in diameter and contain 2 to 8 flowers. The petals are 1–1.4 mm (0.04–0.06 in) long and fall off as the flowers mature. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower, each bundle with 2 to 7 stamens. Flowers appear in summer and are followed by fruit which are woody capsules 1.5–2 mm (0.06–0.08 in). [2] [3]

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca pauciflora was first formally described in 1847 by Nikolai Turczaninow in "Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou". [4] [5] The specific epithet (pauciflora) is from the Latin words paucus meaning "few" or "little" [6] :489 and flos meaning "flower" or "blossom" [6] :338 referring to the inflorescences which are small and have few flowers. [2]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca pauciflora occurs between the Perth area and Albany in the Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren biogeographic regions. [7] It grows in sand in estuaries, swamps and other winter-wet areas. [8]

Conservation

This species is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. [7]

Related Research Articles

Melaleuca apodocephala is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low, bushy shrub with crowded, grey-green leaves, corky bark and a profusion of creamy-yellow flowers on the sides of the branches.

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

Melaleuca adnata, commonly known as sandhill honey-myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tall shrub with papery bark and spikes of white flowers in spring and early summer.

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

Melaleuca blaeriifolia is an erect to spreading shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It has small leaves and small greenish-yellow flowerheads.

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

Melaleuca laxiflora, commonly known as narrow-leaved paperbark, is a woody, spreading shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is distinguished by its loosely arranged, mostly lateral pink flower spikes and its smooth, fleshy, oil-dotted leaves. It is often cultivated because of its hardiness and attractive flowers.

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

Melaleuca bracteosa is a low, spreading shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has tiny, fleshy, non-prickly leaves and cream flowerheads.

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

Melaleuca ciliosa is a small shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has bright or pale yellow flowers, an unusual calyx and leaves that are slightly hairy, especially around the edges.

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

Melaleuca concinna is a small shrub in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. Its species name translates as " neat" or "pretty" and it is distinguished by having many heads of pink flowers in late spring followed by spherical clusters of woody fruits.

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

Melaleuca cucullata is a large shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. Its species name alludes to the shape of the leaves which resemble miniature academics' hoods.

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

Melaleuca hamulosa is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a broom-like shrub with many stiff, ascending branches and spikes of white or pale mauve flowers in spring or summer.

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

Melaleuca lateralis is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a showy shrub, well suited to horticulture, distinguished by its very small leaves and small clusters of pink flowers along the older stems.

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

Melaleuca lutea is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. This species was previously known as Melaleuca citrina but was renamed to allow Callistemon citrinus to be moved to the genus Melaleuca. It is distinguished by its oval shaped, dense heads of yellow flowers and bushy foliage.

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

Melaleuca rigidifolia is a shrub in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is similar to Melaleuca plumea with its pink or purple flowers but is distinguished from that species by its lack of fluffy hairs on the flowers and its spherical clusters of fruits.

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

Melaleuca sparsiflora is a shrub in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It generally grows in heavy soils on the edges of salt lakes and has only one or two flowers at the ends of it branches, unlike the many-flowered heads or spikes of others in the genus Melaleuca.

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

Melaleuca subfalcata is a shrub in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It has fibrous bark and pink to purple flowers in spikes, mostly on the side branches.

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

Melaleuca thyoides, commonly known as salt lake honey-myrtle is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with grey, papery or fibrous bark and very small, overlapping leaves on thin branchlets. It is a salt tolerant species often found on the edges of salt lakes.

<i>Beaufortia cyrtodonta</i> Species of flowering plant

Beaufortia cyrtodonta, commonly known as Stirling Range bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a compact shrub with crowded leaves which appear greyish due to their covering of fine, soft hairs. It has heads of red flowers in spring and occurs in the Stirling Range district.

<i>Hemiphora uncinata</i> Species of flowering plant

Hemiphora uncinata is a flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, spreading shrub with its branches densely covered with white, woolly hairs. Its leaves are rough and wrinkled and the flowers are tube-shaped with deep pink petals with wavy edges.

<i>Boronia pulchella</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia pulchella, commonly known as the pink boronia, is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a slender shrub with rod-like stems, pinnate leaves and deep pink, four-petalled flowers.

<i>Boronia oxyantha</i> Species of flowering plant

Boronia oxyantha is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with many hairy branches, pinnate leaves and pink, four-petalled flowers that have a darker midrib.

Phebalium microphyllum is a species of small, rounded shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has scaly branchlets, leathery, oblong leaves and yellow flowers arranged in umbels of three to six on the ends of branchlets.

References

  1. Govaerts, R. et. al. (2019) Plants of the world online: Melaleuca pauciflora. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  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. 273. ISBN   9781922137517.
  3. Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. p. 222. ISBN   1876334983.
  4. "Melaleuca pauciflora". APNI. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  5. Turczaninow, Nikolai (1852). Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou, Volume 20. Moscou. p. 166. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  6. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  7. 1 2 "Melaleuca pauciflora". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  8. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 396. ISBN   0646402439.