Melaleuca pauperiflora

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Boree
Melaleuca pauperiflora (leaves, flowers, fruits).JPG
Melaleuca pauperiflora
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. pauperiflora
Binomial name
Melaleuca pauperiflora
Subspecies
  • Melaleuca pauperiflora subsp. fastigiata [2]
  • Melaleuca pauperiflora subsp. mutica [3]
  • Melaleuca pauperiflora subsp. pauperiflora [4]
Synonyms [1]

Myrtoleucodendron pauperiflorum(F.Muell.) Kuntze

Melaleuca pauperiflora, commonly known as boree, [5] is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is native to the southern parts of South Australia and Western Australia. It is distinguished by its short, thick leaves and small but profuse heads of white or cream flowers. There are three subspecies.

Contents

Description

Melaleuca pauperiflora is a large shrub or small tree growing to a height of about 6 m (20 ft) with rough or fibrous grey bark. It leaves vary somewhat with subspecies but in general are 3–13 mm (0.1–0.5 in) long, 0.8–1.7 mm (0.03–0.07 in) wide, very narrow elliptical to almost linear in shape and almost circular in cross section. The tips of the leaves are sometimes blunt, sometimes pointed and sometimes sharp. [6]

The flowers are white to pale yellow and arranged in hemispherical heads, mostly on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering but sometimes also in the upper leaf axils. The heads are about 18 mm (0.7 in) in diameter and contain 3 to 10 individual flowers. The petals are 1.7–3 mm (0.07–0.1 in) long and fall off as the flower matures. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower, each bundle containing 10 to 18 stamens. Flowering occurs in spring and early summer and is followed by fruit which are woody, barrel-shaped capsules more or less scattered along the branches. [6] [7]

Habit 17 km (11 mi) east of Hyden Melaleuca pauperiflora (habit).JPG
Habit 17 km (11 mi) east of Hyden

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca pauperiflora was first formally described in 1862 by Ferdinand von Mueller in "Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae" [8] from a specimen collected by George Maxwell in the Phillips Range. [9] The specific epithet (pauperiflora) is derived from the Latin words pauper meaning “poor” [10] : 591  and flos meaning "flower" or "blossom" [10] : 338  referring to the specimen described by Mueller which had only a few flowers. [6]

In a review of the genus Melaleuca in 1988, Bryan Barlow and Kirsten Cowley described three subspecies of Melaleuca pauperiflora: [11]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca pauperiflora occurs in the south-west corner of Western Australia and the south of South Australia. It grows in a range of vegetation associations and soils, depending largely on subspecies. [6] [7] [12]

Ecology

Jewel beetles (Family Buprestidae), especially Temognatha heros are important pollinators of Melaleuca pauperiflora. [13]

Conservation

This species is classified as "not threatened" (in Western Australia) by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. [12]

Uses

Horticulture

Although not of great horticultural value, it is a hardy plant and is useful as a screening plant in dry areas. [7] [14]

Essential oils

Of the three forms, subspecies mutica has the most oil in the leaves. It consists mostly of monoterpenoids, especially 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol).

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.

Melaleuca penicula is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a rare species only known from the Fitzgerald River National Park and resembles Melaleuca eximia with its spikes of red flowers but its leaves and stamen bundles are different.

<i>Calothamnus chrysanthereus</i> Species of flowering plant

Calothamnus chrysanthereus , commonly known as claw flower is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with needle-shaped leaves crowded on the ends of the branches and bright red flowers in spring.

<i>Calothamnus gilesii</i> Species of flowering plant

Calothamnus gilesii is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, usually compact shrub with fine, pine-like foliage and which produces cluster of red flowers from June to January.

<i>Calothamnus pinifolius</i> Species of flowering plant

Calothamnus pinifolius, commonly known as dense clawflower, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with dense foliage and clusters of red flowers, partly immersed in the prickly foliage, between July and January.

<i>Calothamnus graniticus</i> Species of flowering plant

Calothamnus graniticus, commonly known as granite claw flower, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. There are two subspecies, both of which have been classified as "near threatened". It is an erect, rounded shrub with pine-like, dark, grey-green foliage and usually bright red flowers. Calothamnus graniticus subsp. graniticus occurs in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park and is the floral emblem of the nearby city of Busselton.

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

Melaleuca acacioides, commonly known as coastal paperbark and as lunyamad by the Bardi people, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is native to the northern parts of the Northern Territory, Cape York Peninsula and New Guinea. It is closely related to Melaleuca alsophila and Melaleuca citrolens, being differentiated from them by the number of flowers in a group. In this species, they are in groups of three. It is a small to medium-sized tree, sometimes with several trunks when growing in the open. It usually grows in areas with saline soils that are regularly flooded, often near mangroves.

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

Melaleuca acuminata, commonly known as mallee honeymyrtle is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is native to Australia and widespread in temperate areas of the continent. It is an erect shrub to about 3 m (9.8 ft) usually found in mallee woodland.

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

Melaleuca coccinea, commonly known as the goldfields bottlebrush is a shrub in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic the south of Western Australia. It is distinguished by its unusual foliage and bottlebrush spikes of red flowers.

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

Melaleuca bisulcata is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the a relatively small area on the west coast of Western Australia. It is difficult to distinguish this species from Melaleuca psammophila except on differences in the shape of the calyx lobes.

<i>Melaleuca filifolia</i> Species of flowering 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 shrub

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 acutifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca acutifolia is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has small, pointed, oval leaves and in summer, heads of white flowers. The species was originally described as a variety of Melaleuca lateriflora but was raised to species status in 2010.

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

Melaleuca lateriflora, commonly known as gorada, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is usually an erect shrub with oval leaves and small clusters of white flowers mainly along the older branches.

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 flowering 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.

Melaleuca fulgens subsp. corrugata, commonly known as the wrinkled honey myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to an area near the border between Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. In 1990, the species Melaleuca fulgens was separated into 3 subspecies. This subspecies has a disjunct distribution but is nevertheless very similar to the other two, only differing the colour of the flowers and small differences in the leaf shape and length of the stamens. As with the other subspecies, this one is notable for its showy flowers which are usually a shade of pink to mauve but its foliage and fruits are also attractive features.

Calothamnus formosus is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a large, spreading, densely foliaged shrub with almost cylindrical, pointed leaves and red flowers in spring or summer. There are two subspecies, differing mainly in the length of their leaves.

<i>Calothamnus longissimus</i> Species of flowering 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 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.

References

  1. 1 2 "Melaleuca pauperiflora". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Melaleuca pauperiflora subsp. fastigiata". APNI. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Melaleuca pauperiflora subsp. mutica". APNI. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Melaleuca pauperiflora subsp. pauperiflora". APNI. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 396. ISBN   0646402439.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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. 240. ISBN   9781922137517.
  7. 1 2 3 Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 210–211. ISBN   1876334983.
  8. ↑ "Melaleuca pauperiflora". APNI. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Mueller, Ferdinand (1862). Fragmenta phytographie Australiae. Melbourne. p. 116. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  10. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  11. ↑ Barlow, Bryan A.; Cowley, Kirsten J. (1988). "Contributions to a revision of Melaleuca (Myrtaceae): 4–6". Australian Systematic Botany. 1 (2): 95–126. doi:10.1071/SB9880095 . Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Melaleuca plumea Craven". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  13. ↑ Bellamy, Charles L. (2002). Zoological catalogue of Australia:29.3 Coleoptera, Bupestroidea. Collingwood: C.S.I.R.O. p. 324. ISBN   0643069003 . Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  14. ↑ Wrigley, John W.; Fagg, Murray (1983). Australian native plants : a manual for their propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping (2nd ed.). Sydney: Collins. p. 267. ISBN   0002165759.
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