Melochia umbellata

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Melochia umbellata
Starr 011205-0002 Melochia umbellata.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Melochia
Species:
M. umbellata
Binomial name
Melochia umbellata
Synonyms
  • Visenia indicaC.C.Gimelin
  • Visenia umbellataHoutt.
  • Melochia indica(Gmel.) Kurz. [1]

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]

Contents

Description

Flowers Starr 011205-0008 Melochia umbellata.jpg
Flowers
Fruits Starr 011205-0006 Melochia umbellata.jpg
Fruits

Melochia umbellata is a shrub or small tree, growing to 2–15 m (6 ft 7 in – 49 ft 3 in) 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]

Distribution and habitat

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]

References

Notes

  1. "Melochia umbellata". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 2010-12-08.
  2. 1 2 Flora of Australia Online.
  3. 1 2 3 Starr et al. (2003).
  4. Pers.comm.

Sources

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Melochia umbellata at Wikimedia Commons Wikispecies-logo.svg Data related to Melochia umbellata at Wikispecies