Melaleuca viminea

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Mohan
Melaleuca viminea.jpg
Melaleuca viminea in Maranoa Gardens
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. viminea
Binomial name
Melaleuca viminea
Synonyms [1]

Myrtoleucodendron vimineum(Lindl.) Kuntze

Melaleuca viminea, commonly known as mohan, [2] 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. Its leaves are linear to narrowly oval, the flowers white to cream-coloured, in heads of 5 to 50, and the fruit is a woody capsule.

Contents

Description

Melaleuca viminea grows to 0.5–15 m (2–50 ft) in height and has fibrous or papery bark. Its leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, each leaf 3–20 mm (0.1–0.8 in) long and 0.6–2 millimetres (0.02–0.08 in) wide, linear to narrow oval in shape, tapering to a point.

Its flowers are in heads, at or near the ends of the branches in groups, 25 mm (1 in) in diameter composed of 5 to 50 individual white or cream flowers. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower, each bundle having 3 to 16 stamens. Flowers appear from July to November and are described as smelling sickly. The fruit are woody capsules, 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long. [3] [4]

Habit near Mount Barker Melaleuca viminea (habit).JPG
Habit near Mount Barker
Fruit Melaleuca viminea (leaves, flowers, fruits).JPG
Fruit
Bark Melaleuca viminea (bark).JPG
Bark

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1839 by John Lindley in A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony . [5] [6] The specific epithet (viminea) is a Latin word meaning "pliant" or "willowy". [7]

The names of three subspecies of Melaleuca vimminalis are currently recognised by the Australian Plant Census:

Distribution and habitat

This melaleuca is widespread in the south-west of Western Australia. It grows in sandy or clayey soils near watercourses, winter-wet depressions, rocky coastal areas and flats. [15] [2]

Conservation

Melaleuca viminea, subsp. demissa and viminea are listed as "not threatened" [2] [12] [14] but subsp. appressa is listed as "Priority Two" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions [10] meaning it may be threatened but is poorly known, only occurring in a few locations. [16]

Related Research Articles

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Melaleuca huegelii, commonly known as chenille honey-myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west coastal areas of Western Australia. It has small, almost scale-like leaves and flower spikes sometimes more than 100 millimetres (4 in) long on the ends many of its branches.

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

Melaleuca viminalis, commonly known as weeping bottlebrush or creek bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. It is a multi-trunked, large shrub or tree with hard bark, often pendulous foliage and large numbers of bright red bottlebrush flowers in spring and summer. It is possibly the most commonly cultivated melaleuca in gardens and its cultivars are often grown in many countries.

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

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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 dempta</i> Species of shrub

Melaleuca dempta is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub resembling Melaleuca calycina with its heads of white flowers and egg-shaped to heart-shaped leaves. It was formerly considered a subspecies of Melaleuca calycina subsp. dempta but it lacks the star-like fruits of that species and its leaves have a blunt rather than a pointed tip.

Melaleuca eximia is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is distinguished by its leaf arrangement, its large, showy red inflorescences and the large, furry bracts under the flowers.

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

Melaleuca longistaminea is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with small, prickly, heart-shaped leaves and heads of yellow to green flowers on the sides of the stems in winter and spring. It is similar to Melaleuca spectabilis which was formerly included in this species but has smaller flowerheads and narrower leaves.

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

Melaleuca adenostyla is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a large, broom-like shrub to about 5 metres (16 ft) high with narrow leaves and cream-coloured flowers and which often grows in saline places.

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

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.

<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 lecanantha</i> Species of shrub

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.

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

Melaleuca incana, commonly known as grey honey-myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia and is naturalised in the south of Victoria in Australia. It is commonly grown as a garden plant and produces large numbers of white or creamy yellow flowers, sometimes highly scented, in spring.

<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.

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

Melaleuca macronychia is a shrub in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. Its large, red flower spikes and long flowering period contribute to its popularity as a garden plant. There are two subspecies, distinguished mainly by the shape of the leaves.

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

Melaleuca pauperiflora, commonly known as boree, 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.

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

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.

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

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 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.

<i>Melaleuca fulgens <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> steedmanii</i> Subspecies of flowering plant

Melaleuca fulgens subsp. steedmanii, 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. Of the two subspecies occurring in the south-west, this one has the narrower distribution, occurring mainly near Geraldton. As with the other subspecies, this one is notable for its showy flowers which are usually red but its foliage and fruits are also attractive features.

Calytrix breviseta is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a more or less glabrous shrub with egg-shaped, elliptic, lanceolate, oblong or linear leaves and clusters of purple flowers with about 25 to 65 white stamens in several rows, becoming reddish-purple as they age.

References

  1. 1 2 "Melaleuca viminea". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Melaleuca viminea". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  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. 380. ISBN   9781922137517.
  4. Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 306–307. ISBN   1876334983.
  5. "Melaleuca viminea". APNI. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  6. Lindley, John (1839). A sketch of the vegetation of the Swan River colony. London: James Ridgway, Piccadilly. p. viii. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  7. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 836.
  8. "Melaleuca viminea subsp. appressa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 Quinn, F.C.; Cowley, K.J.; Barlow, B.A.; Thiele, K.R. (1998). "New names and combinations for some Melaleuca (Myrtaceae) species and subspecies from the south-west of Western Australia considered rare or threatened" (PDF). Nuytsia. 8 (3): 349–350. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Melaleuca viminea subsp. appressa". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  11. "Melaleuca viminea subsp. demissa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  12. 1 2 "Melaleuca viminea subsp. demissa". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  13. "Melaleuca viminea subsp. viminea". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  14. 1 2 "Melaleuca viminea subsp. viminea". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  15. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 399. ISBN   0646402439.
  16. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Retrieved 28 July 2024.