| Melochia umbellata | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Malvaceae |
| Genus: | Melochia |
| Species: | M. umbellata |
| Binomial name | |
| Melochia umbellata | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Melochia umbellata is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. Its specific epithet comes from the Latin umbellatus (umbel-like), referring to the inflorescence. [2]
Melochia umbellata is a shrub or small tree, growing to 2–15 m in height. It grows rapidly and is able to colonise disturbed land. [3] It has large, broadly ovate, leaves 90–300 mm long. The flowers are usually pale pink to red. The seeds are winged and wind-dispersed. [3]
The plant is native to a region extending from India eastwards through Southeast Asia to north-western Australia and New Guinea. It occurs in secondary vegetation and forest clearings, on rocky slopes and along the edges of rivers and forests, often in seasonally dry soil. [2]
It has been introduced elsewhere and is cultivated widely to provide shade for young trees in timber and coffee plantations. Melochia is relished by ruminants when offered as a cut-and-carry feed. [4] It has become an invasive weed on the Island of Hawaiʻi where it was extensively planted in the Hilo area during a 1920s reforestation program. [3]
Pinus radiata, the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico. It is an evergreen conifer in the family Pinaceae.
Thuja occidentalis, also known as northern white cedar, eastern white cedar, or arborvitae, is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is native to eastern Canada and much of the north-central and northeastern United States. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant.
Metrosideros is a genus of approximately 60 trees, shrubs, and vines mostly found in the Pacific region in the family Myrtaceae. Most of the tree forms are small, but some are exceptionally large, the New Zealand species in particular. The name derives from the Ancient Greek metra or "heartwood" and sideron or "iron". Perhaps the best-known species are the pōhutukawa, northern and southern rātā of New Zealand, and ʻōhiʻa lehua, from the Hawaiian Islands.
Pinus contorta, with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpine, but is rare in lowland rain forests. Like all pines, it is an evergreen conifer.
Elaeagnus umbellata is known as Japanese silverberry, umbellata oleaster, autumn olive, autumn elaeagnus, or spreading oleaster. The species is indigenous to eastern Asia and ranges from the Himalayas eastwards to Japan. It is a hardy, aggressive invasive species able to readily colonize barren land, becoming a troublesome plant in the central and northeastern United States and Europe.
Santalum is a genus of woody flowering plants, the best known and commercially valuable of which is the Indian sandalwood tree, S. album. Members of the genus are trees or shrubs. Most are root parasites which photosynthesize their own food, but tap the roots of other species for water and inorganic nutrients. Several species, most notably S. album, produce highly aromatic wood, used for scents and perfumes and for herbal medicine. About 25 known species range across the Indomalayan, Australasian, and Oceanian realms, from India through Malesia to the Pacific Islands, as far as Hawaiʻi and the Juan Fernández Islands off the coast of South America.
Populus alba, commonly called silver poplar, silverleaf poplar, or white poplar, is a species of poplar, most closely related to the aspens. It is native to Morocco and then Portugal through central Europe to central Asia. It grows in moist sites, often by watersides, in regions with hot summers and cold to mild winters.
Hibiscus tiliaceus is a species of flowering tree in the mallow family, Malvaceae, that is native to the Old World tropics. Common names include sea hibiscus, beach hibiscus, coastalhibiscus, coastalcottonwood, green cottonwood, native hibiscus, native rosella, cottonwood hibiscus, kurrajong, sea rosemallow, balibago (Tagalog), malabago or malbago, maribago, lambago, waru (Javanese), baru or bebaru (Malay), dhigga (Maldivian), pagu (Chamorro), hau (Hawaiian), fau (Samoan), purau (Tahitian), and vau tree. The specific epithet, "tiliaceus", refers to its resemblance of the leaves to those of the related Tilia species.
Cinnamomum camphora is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel.
Garuga is a genus of shrubs and trees in the family Burseraceae. Members are found in Asia and America.
Prosopis glandulosa, commonly known as honey mesquite, is a species of small to medium-sized, thorny shrub or tree in the legume family (Fabaceae).
Toona ciliata is a forest tree in the mahogany family which grows throughout southern Asia from Afghanistan to Papua New Guinea and Australia.
Olearia argophylla is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Its common names are musk daisybush, musktree, muskwood and silvershrub. It is found in Australia, specifically in New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria. It grows as a tall shrub or tree characteristic of wet sclerophyll forest. Its leaves are large and broad, coarsely toothed, green on top and silver-white underneath. The grain of the wood is mainly straight, but burls near the base of the tree are prized for their brown swirls that often suggest the appearance of small faces or animals peering out of the wood, making them highly sought after by woodworkers.
Melochia is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It comprises 54 species from the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, ranging from India eastwards through Malesia and the Pacific Islands to the Americas and the Caribbean.
Ehretia microphylla, synonym Carmona retusa, also known as the Fukien tea tree or Philippine tea tree, is a species of flowering plant in the borage family, Boraginaceae.
Abronia, the sand-verbenas or wild lantanas, is a genus of about 20 species of annual or perennial herbaceous plants in the family Nyctaginaceae. Despite the common names, they are not related to Verbena (vervains) or lantanas in the family Verbenaceae. They are closely allied with Tripterocalyx.
Persoonia media is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect to spreading shrub or tree with branchlets and leaves that are glabrous or only sparsely hairy, elliptic to egg-shaped leaves and up to sixteen yellow flowers on a rachis up to 150 mm (5.9 in) long.
Ceriops tagal, commonly known as spurred mangrove or Indian mangrove, is a mangrove tree species in the family Rhizophoraceae. It is a protected tree in South Africa. The specific epithet tagal is a plant name from the Tagalog language.
Rhizophora stylosa, the spotted mangrove, red mangrove, small stilted mangrove or stilt-root mangrove, is a tree in the family Rhizophoraceae. The specific epithet stylosa is from the Latin meaning "stylus form", referring to the flower.
Persoonia amaliae is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a shrub or small tree with hairy young branches, spatula-shaped to lance-shaped leaves and yellow flowers in groups of up to eleven.
Media related to Melochia umbellata at Wikimedia Commons 
Data related to Melochia umbellata at Wikispecies