Melaleuca glauca

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Albany bottlebrush
Melaleuca glauca (habit).JPG
Melaleuca glauca
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. glauca
Binomial name
Melaleuca glauca
Synonyms [1]
List
    • Callistemon glaucus(DC.) Sweet
    • Callistemon heleogiton Domin
    • Callistemon salignus var. paludosus(R.Br.) F.Muell.
    • Callistemon speciosus(Sims) Colvill ex Sweet
    • Callistemon speciosus var. glaucus DC.
    • Melaleuca paludosaR.Br.
    • Metrosideros crassifolia Dum.Cours.
    • Metrosideros glaucaDum.Cours.
    • Metrosideros glauca Bonpl.
    • Metrosideros speciosaSims

Melaleuca glauca, commonly known as Albany bottlebrush is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. (Some Australian state herbaria continue to use the name Callistemon glaucus. Lyndley Craven claims that there is no type material for Callistemon speciosus and includes it here as a synonym.) [2] [3] It is a tall shrub with glaucous leaves and spikes of red flowers in spring.

Contents

Description

Melaleuca glauca is a shrub growing to 3.5 m (10 ft) tall with hard, fibrous bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are 40–128 mm (2–5 in) long, 3–18 mm (0.1–0.7 in) wide, flat, mostly narrow egg-shaped with a mid-vein and 11 to 20 branching veins. [4]

The flowers are bright red and arranged in spikes on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering. The spikes are up to 75 mm (3 in) in diameter with 20 to 120 or more individual flowers. The petals are 4.5–7.2 mm (0.18–0.28 in) long and fall off as the flower ages. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower and there are between 6 and 15 stamens per bundle. Flowering occurs from October to December and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules, 5.7–8.8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long. [4]

Habit in Gull Rock National Park Melaleuca glauca (leaves, flowers, fruits).JPG
Habit in Gull Rock National Park

Taxonomy and naming

The Albany bottlebrush was first formally described in 1830 by the English botanist Robert Sweet, who gave it the name Callistemon glaucus and published the description in his book Hortus Britannicus. [5] [6] In 2013, Lyndley Craven changed the name to Melaleuca glauca and published the name change in Melaleucas : their botany, essential oils and uses. [4]

In 1815 Aimé Bonpland described Metrosideros glauca but the name was not a validly published name (a nom. illeg.), [7] having already been used by Georges de Courset in 1811. [8] Callistemon glaucus is regarded as a synonym of Melaleuca glauca by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [9]

The specific epithet (glauca) is from the Latin glaucus meaning "glaucous", referring to the leaves seen by Bonpland. [4]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca glauca occurs in the south and south-western coastal districts of Western Australia between Perth and Albany in the Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren biogeographic regions, where it grows in swampy ground in sandy or clayey soils. [4] [10] [11]

Conservation status

Melaleuca glauca is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. [11]

Use in horticulture

Melaleuca glauca is widely grown as an ornamental (as Callistemon glaucus) in temperate parts of Australia. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Callistemon</i> Genus of flowering plants

Callistemon is a genus of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae, first described as a genus in 1814. The entire genus is endemic to Australia but widely cultivated in many other regions and naturalised in scattered locations. Their status as a separate taxon is in doubt, some authorities accepting that the difference between callistemons and melaleucas is not sufficient for them to be grouped in a separate genus.

<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 comboynensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca comboynensis, commonly known as cliff bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. It is usually a shrub, similar to Melaleuca citrina with its hard leaves, spikes of red flowers and clusters of cup-shaped fruits but differs in that its leaves are generally wider and its habitat is usually rocky outcrops rather than along watercourses.

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

Melaleuca pachyphylla, commonly known as wallum bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to near-coastal regions of New South Wales and Queensland in Australia.. It is a medium-sized shrub with a straggling habit and red, or sometimes greenish, bottlebrush flowers in summer.

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

Melaleuca phoenicea, commonly known as scarlet bottlebrush or lesser bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The Noongar peoples know the plant as tubada. It is a shrub with thick, blue-green leaves and spikes of scarlet bottlebrush flowers in spring and summer.

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

Melaleuca orophila, commonly known as needle bottlebrush or Flinders Ranges bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the eastern part of South Australia.. It is a medium-sized shrub with sharp-pointed, needle-like leaves and bright red bottlebrush flower spikes.

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

Melaleuca brachyandra, commonly known as prickly bottlebrush or scarlet bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia in Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with narrow leaves and showy red and green flowers making it an ideal ornamental plant in temperate areas.

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

Melaleuca recurva, commonly known as Tinaroo bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to higher areas of far northern Queensland in Australia.. It is a shrub with spikes of red flowers tipped with yellow in most months of the year and which often has leaves with their edges curled under.

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

Melaleuca citrina, the common red bottlebrush, crimson bottlebrush, or lemon bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to eastern Australia. Some Australian state herbaria continue to use the name Callistemon citrinus. It is a hardy and adaptable species, common in its natural habitat. It is widely cultivated, not only in Australia. It was one of the first Australian plants to be grown outside the country, having been taken to England in 1770 by Joseph Banks. Its showy red flower spikes, present over most of the year in an ideal situation, account for its popularity.

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

Melaleuca pallida, commonly known as lemon bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an upright shrub with thin, spreading branches, silvery new growth and pale yellow, sometimes pinkish bottlebrush flowers.

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

Melaleuca chisholmii commonly known as Burra bottlebrush is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a shrub with rough bark, an open habit and spiky foliage but in winter has bright red flower spikes tipped with yellow.

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

Melaleuca flammea, commonly known as tapering-leaved bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. It is a shrub with broad, lance-shaped leaves which have wavy edges and taper gradually to a fine point. In spring it has typical bottlebrush flowers whose fiery colour gives the species its name.

Melaleuca hemisticta, commonly known as Mount Wheeler bottlebrush is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to coastal areas of Queensland. It is a tall, bushy shrub with dark green leaves and red flowers spikes tipped with yellow.

Melaleuca montis-zamia is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the Springsure district in Queensland, Australia. It is a shrub with red bottlebrush flowers.

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

Melaleuca pearsonii, commonly known as Blackdown bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland in Australia. It is a small, spreading but compact shrub with hard bark, soft foliage and profuse spikes of bottlebrush flowers in spring and summer.

Melaleuca quercina, commonly known as Oakey bottlebrush is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area of Queensland in Australia. It is small tree with dark, corky bark and spikes of yellow, cream or pink bottlebrush flowers in spring and summer.

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

Melaleuca rugulosa, commonly known as scarlet bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to South Australia and Victoria in Australia. It is a shrub with an open straggly habit, stiff, sharply pointed leaves and bright red bottlebrush flowers tipped with yellow in summer.

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

Melaleuca salicina, commonly known as willow bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to eastern Australia. Some Australian state herbaria continue to use the name Callistemon salignus, a name that is accepted by the Australian Plant Census. It is a shrub or small tree with soft foliage, pink new growth, white papery bark and spikes of usually white or creamy bottlebrush flowers in spring.

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

Melaleuca serpentina is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the Barraba district in Australia. It is a shrub with yellow or creamy-green bottlebrush flowers. It is similar to Melaleuca citrina but can be distinguished from that species by its flower colour and its shorter stamens.

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

Melaleuca virens, commonly known as lime bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Tasmania in Australia. It is one of only two melaleucas endemic to Tasmania, the other being Melaleuca pustulata although another six also occur there. A small to medium shrub growing mostly in subalpine areas, it has hard, leathery, sharply pointed leaves and spikes of yellow or greenish flowers in early summer,

References

  1. 1 2 "Melaleuca glauca". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  2. Udovicic, Frank; Spencer, Roger (2012). "New combinations in Callistemon (Myrtaceae)" (PDF). Muelleria. 30 (1): 23–25. doi:10.5962/p.292240. S2CID   251007557 . Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  3. "Callistemon speciosus (Sims) Colvill ex Sweet". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brophy, Joseph J.; Craven, Lyndley A.; Doran, John C. (2013). Melaleucas : their botany, essential oils and uses. Canberra: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. pp. 177–178. ISBN   9781922137517.
  5. "Melaleuca glauca". APNI. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  6. Sweet, Robert (1830). Hortus Britannicus (2nd ed.). London: James Ridgway. p. 209. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  7. "Metrosideros glauca Bonpl". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  8. "Metrosideros glauca Dum.Cours". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  9. "Callistemon glaucus". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  10. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 350. ISBN   0646402439.
  11. 1 2 "Melaleuca glauca". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.