Blackdown bottlebrush | |
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Melaleuca pearsonii | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Myrtales |
Family: | Myrtaceae |
Genus: | Melaleuca |
Species: | M. pearsonii |
Binomial name | |
Melaleuca pearsonii | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Callistemon pearsonii R.D.Spencer & Lumley |
Melaleuca pearsonii, commonly known as Blackdown bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland in Australia. (Some Australian state herbaria continue to use the name Callistemon pearsonii.) [2] It is a small, spreading but compact shrub with hard bark, soft foliage and profuse spikes of bottlebrush flowers in spring and summer.
Melaleuca pearsonii is a shrub growing to 2 m (7 ft) high and wide, with hard, fibrous bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are 14–38 mm (0.6–1 in) long, 1.5–5 mm (0.06–0.2 in) wide, flat, linear to narrow egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base. The leaf veins are indistinct but there are many distinct oil glands. [3] [4]
The flowers are red, tipped with yellow and are arranged in short spikes on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering and also on the sides of the branches. The spikes are 45–65 mm (2–3 in) in diameter with 20 to 40 individual flowers. The petals are 3.7–5.7 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and fall off as the flower ages and there are 25-39 stamens in each flower. Flowering occurs mainly in spring and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules, 3.8–5.2 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long. [3] [4] [5]
Melaleuca pearsonii was first named in 2006 by Lyndley Craven in Novon when Callistemon pearsonii was moved to the present genus. [6] [7] It had previously been known as Callistemon pearsonii, formally described by Roger Spencer and Peter Lumley in 1986 in Muelleria, based on plant material collected from the Blackdown Tabeland. The specific epithet (pearsonii) honours Steven Pearson, a park ranger in the Blackdown Tableland National Park. [3]
Callistemon pearsonii is regarded as a synonym of Melaleuca pearsonii by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [8]
Melaleuca pearsonii occurs on the Blackdown Tableland in Queensland. It grows near rivers, in rocky gullies and in wallum vegetation in creek beds. [3]
Melaleuca pearsonii is sometimes cultivated as Callistemon pearsonii including the cultivar "Rocky Rambler".
Melaleuca linearifolia, commonly known as netted bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales in Australia.. It is a shrub with narrow, pointed leaves and red flower spikes in spring or summer.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Melaleuca faucicola commonly known as desert bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the Northern Territory in Australia. It is a shrub or small tree growing only in protected gorges in the ranges of Central Australia such as the Petermann Ranges and has red, cream or white spikes of flowers.
Melaleuca pallida, commonly known as lemon bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an upright shrub with thin, spreading branches, silvery new growth and pale yellow, sometimes pinkish bottlebrush flowers.
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.
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.
Melaleuca flavovirens, commonly known as green bottlebrush is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area near the New South Wales–Queensland border in Australia. It is a stiff shrub, distinguished by its silvery new growth and spikes of greenish flowers with yellow tips.
Melaleuca hemisticta, commonly known as Mount Wheeler bottlebrush is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to coastal areas of Queensland. It is a tall, bushy shrub with dark green leaves and red flowers spikes tipped with yellow.
Melaleuca lazaridis is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the Blackdown Tableland National Park in Queensland.. It is a shrub with dark green leaves and red flowers spikes tipped with yellow.
Melaleuca megalongensis, commonly known as Megalong Valley bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales.. It is a shrub similar to Melaleuca citrina which occurs in the same area and is difficult to distinguish from it, except when in flower.
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.
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.
Melaleuca sabrina is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area near the border between New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. It is a shrub with fibrous bark and red or pink bottlebrush flowers, tipped with yellow in spring and summer. It is similar to Melaleuca paludicola but distinguished from it by its stamens, which are almost twice as long as those of M. paludicola.
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.
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.
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.