| Melaleuca sculponeata | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Melaleuca |
| Species: | M. sculponeata |
| Binomial name | |
| Melaleuca sculponeata Barlow [1] | |
Melaleuca sculponeata is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, rare shrub with fleshy leaves and white heads of flowers.
Melaleuca sculponeata is a shrub growing to about 0.5 m (2 ft) tall with branches and leaves that are glabrous when mature. Its leaves are arranged in alternating pairs, each pair at right angles to the ones above and below (decussate) so that the leaves form four rows along the stems. Each leaf is 1.3–3.2 mm (0.05–0.1 in) long and 0.8–1.2 mm (0.03–0.05 in) wide, narrow oblong in shape and fleshy with the lower part of the leaf touching the stem. The leaf is concave on the upper surface, convex on the lower surface where 6 to 8 oil glands are visible but not prominent. [2] [3]
The flowers are white and arranged in heads on the sides of the branches. Each head contains 4 to 12 individual flowers. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flowers and there are 8 to 12 stamens per bundle. The main flowering period is in October and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules 2–2.5 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long, 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) in diameter forming clusters on the old wood. [2] [4]
Melaleuca sculponeata was first formally described in 1992 by Bryan Barlow in Nuytsia [3] as a new species. [1] The specific epithet (sculponeata) is from the Latin sculponea meaning "wooden shoe" [5] referring to the leaves, when removed from the stem, appearing like clogs. [2]
Melaleuca sculponeata occurs in two small, isolated populations in the Fitzgerald River and the Lake King districts [2] in the Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions. [6] The plants grow in sand on sandplains. [7]
Melaleuca sculpeonata is listed as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife [6] meaning that it is known from only a few locations and is not currently in imminent danger. [8]
Melaleuca viminea, commonly known as mohan is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is variable in size and form from a densely branched, small shrub to a small tree. It has become naturalised locally in southern Victoria.
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.
Melaleuca barlowii is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is similar to a number of other Western Australian melaleucas such as M. conothamnoides with its purple pom-pom flower heads but is a more erect shrub with different leaves and the fruiting clusters have a different shape.
Melaleuca strobophylla is a shrub or small tree in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has papery bark, sharply pointed, twisted leaves and rather long spikes of creamy white flowers in summer.
Melaleuca araucarioides is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area of the south-west Western Australia. It is a many-branched shrub with the leaves arranged in a way that gives the plant the appearance of a conifer.
Melaleuca apostiba is a shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It was first described in 1990 by Kirsten Cowley and remains a poorly known species. It resembles Melaleuca lateritia except for its hairy leaves and flower structures as well as its leaf shape and size.
Melaleuca xerophila is a shrub or small tree in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is native to arid parts of South Australia and Western Australia. It is a large shrub with narrow leaves and heads of white or cream-coloured flowers in spring.
Melaleuca lecanantha is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area of south-west Western Australia. It is a shrub with small, rather fleshy leaves and pink to lilac-coloured flowers in early spring. The plant was first described in 1867 but the name given to it was considered illegitimate and it was not until 1998 that it was first formally described.
Melaleuca fissurata is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with rough bark, dished leaves and heads of white or yellow flowers in spring. It is closely related to Melaleuca lateriflora but differs from it in having roughly textured, corky fruit and shorter, convex shaped leaves.
Melaleuca ordinifolia is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is closely related to Melaleuca brevifolia, but is smaller and differing mainly in its leaf features.
Melaleuca pomphostoma is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, dense shrub with fleshy, narrow leaves, greenish-yellow flowers. It is similar and closely related to Melaleuca bracteosa but differs in the colour and number of stamens in each flower.
Melaleuca pritzelii is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It was originally named in 1923 by Karel Domin as a subspecies Melaleuca densa var. pritzelii but raised to species status in 1992. It is a rare species, known only from a few plants in each of a small number of populations.
Melaleuca ringens is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It shares some features with Melaleuca diosmifolia but has creamy yellow flower spikes and a lower, more spreading form.
Melaleuca sciotostyla, commonly known as Wongan melaleuca, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an endangered species with only 476 mature plants known in 2001. It is closely related and very similar to Melaleuca haplantha but has narrower leaves and fewer stamens per flower than that species.
Melaleuca spectabilis is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It was formerly known as a subspecies of Melaleuca longistaminea. It is a low, prickly shrub with yellow or lime-green flowers in spring and early summer.
Melaleuca subalaris is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is distinguished by its small, decussate leaves and small flower heads which rarely have more than one flower in each inflorescence.
Melaleuca teuthidoides is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a shrub with rough bark and heads of white flowers on the ends of its branches in spring and early summer.
Melaleuca torquata is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a prickly shrub whose leaves have a distinct mid-vein on the lower surface and which has heads of pinkish white flowerheads in early spring.
Melaleuca ulicoides is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a small, densely foliaged shrub with small heads of white or cream flowers in spring. It is closely related to Melaleuca marginata but can be distinguished from it by the number and character of leaf veins.
Melaleuca calcicola is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It was formerly known as a subspecies of Melaleuca apodocephala but was reassessed in 2010 and raised to species status. Its branches are corky, the leaves pointed although not prickly and the flowers are creamy white, tipped with yellow.
