Melaleuca scabra

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Rough honey-myrtle
Melaleuca scabra (leaves, flowers) 02.JPG
Melaleuca scabra
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. scabra
Binomial name
Melaleuca scabra
Synonyms [1]
Habit at Mylies Beach near East Mount Barren Melaleuca scabra (habit).JPG
Habit at Mylies Beach near East Mount Barren
Fruit Melaleuca scabra (fruits) 02.JPG
Fruit
Bark Melaleuca scabra (bark).JPG
Bark

Melaleuca scabra, commonly known as rough honey-myrtle, [2] is a species of shrub that is endemic to a small area on the south coast of Western Australia. It has warty leaves and profuse, pink to purple heads of flowers between July and November.

Contents

Description

Melaleuca scabra is a shrub that typically grows to about 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) high and wide with glabrous branches, branchlets and leaves. The leaves are arranged alternately, linear to oblong, warty, 5–21 mm (0.20–0.83 in) long and about 1 mm (0.039 in) wide, often with a channel on the lower surface. The flowers are arranged in heads at the ends of branchlets that continue to grow after flowering. Each head is up to 22 mm (0.87 in) wide and has up to five groups of flowers, each group with three flowers. The stamens are shades of pink or deep purple with a yellow anther at the tip and are arranged in 5 bundles around the flower, each bundle containing 3 to 6 stamens. Flowering occurs from July to November and the fruit is a woody capsule 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long in almost spherical clusters. [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca scabra was first formally described in 1812 by Robert Brown in William Aiton's Hortus Kewensis . [5] [6] The specific epithet (scabra) is from the Latin word scaber meaning "rough", "scurfy", "scabby" or "mangy". [3] This melaleuca was formerly assumed to be a widespread species until the genus was revised in 1999 by Lyndley Craven and Brendan Lepschi. [7]

In Flora Australasica of 1828, Robert Sweet described this species as "a rare and beautiful plant" and "...its flowers are of a dark purple and produced in great abundance; the ends of all the young shoots being covered with them, they are there crowded in dense heads, so that they have scarcely room to expand, and are of a pleasant aromatic scent." [8]

Distribution and habitat

Rough honeymyrtle occurs in coastal areas of Western Australia between Hopetoun and Israelite Bay [2] in the Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions [9] growing in soils containing sand, clay or laterite. [10]

Conservation

This melaleuca is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. [9]

Related Research Articles

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

Melaleuca fulgens, commonly known as the scarlet honey myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. It is notable for its showy orange, red or purple flowers, unusual foliage and fruit, and is a popular garden plant. It is a member of Melaleuca, a large and diverse genus whose members range from large trees such as M. quinquenervia, to small shrubs.

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>Melaleuca brophyi</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca brophyi 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 with small, fleshy leaves and clusters of fruit that resemble soccer balls.

<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 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 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 hollidayi</i> Species of shrub

Melaleuca hollidayi is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a small shrub with fine hairs like spider web on its leaves, and bright pink flowers.

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

Melaleuca sapientes is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub with silky grey leaves and small heads of pinkish flowers in spring or early summer. The attractive, silvery foliage has made this melaleuca a popular garden plant under the incorrect name of Melaleuca holosericea, a similar but much rarer species.

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

Melaleuca societatis is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south west of Western Australia. It is a dwarf shrub with small, fleshy leaves and many heads of pink or purple flowers in spring, followed by "soccer-ball" fruit.

<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.

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

Melaleuca villosisepala is a shrub in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with narrow leaves, heads of pink to mauve flowers that fade to white and is similar to Melaleuca wonganensis except that its heads of flowers are smaller and pinkish rather than deep purple.

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

Melaleuca pulchella, commonly known as claw flower and claw honey-myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is one of only two species of Melaleuca to have two kinds of stamens. The outer stamens are longer and curved, giving the appearance of a claw to the flower. It is a hardy shrub flowering over a long period, and has been a popular garden plant for many years.

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

Melaleuca calycina is a shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a stiff, erect shrub with oval to heart-shaped leaves, white flowers and star-shaped fruit.

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

Melaleuca densa is a shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a bushy shrub with profuse cream, yellow or greenish flowers and overlapping leaves on the youngest shoots.

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

Melaleuca globifera is a shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a bushy, small tree with papery bark and spherical heads of flowers on the ends of the branches.

<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 sophisma is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is superficially similar to Melaleuca cliffortioides but differs from it in the arrangement of the flowers and in details of the leaves. The flowers are white, fading to cream and are arranged in small heads on the sides of the 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.

Melaleuca fulgens subsp. fulgens, commonly known as the scarlet honey myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. In 1990, the species Melaleuca fulgens was separated into 3 subspecies and this is the most widespread of them. As with the other two subspecies, this one is notable for its showy flowers which are usually red but its foliage and fruits are also attractive features.

References

  1. 1 2 "Melaleuca scabra". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 252–253. ISBN   1876334983.
  3. 1 2 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. 315. ISBN   9781922137517.
  4. Archer, William. "Rough honey-myrtle". Esperance Wildflowers. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  5. "Melaleuca scabra". APNI. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  6. Brown, Robert; Aiton, William (ed.) (1812). Hortus kewensis, or, A catalogue of the plants cultivated in the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown. p. 414. Retrieved 12 November 2019.{{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
  7. 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): 902. doi:10.1071/SB98019 . Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  8. Sweet, Robert (1828). Flora Australasica. London: J. Ridgway. p. 10. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  9. 1 2 "Melaleuca scabra". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  10. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 397. ISBN   0646402439.