Melaleuca calycina

Melaleuca calycina is a shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a stiff, erect shrub with oval to heart-shaped leaves, white flowers and star-shaped fruit.

foliage and fruit
habit on the roadside between Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun

Melaleuca calycina
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. calycina
Binomial name
Melaleuca calycina
Synonyms[1]
  • Myrtoleucodendron calycinum (R.Br.) Kuntze
  • Melaleuca carinata Turcz.

Description

Melaleuca calycina grows to a height of about 3 m (10 ft) or less and has rough, corky bark. The leaves are 5–12 mm (0.2–0.5 in) long and 2.9–6.8 mm (0.1–0.3 in) wide, arranged in alternating opposite pairs (decussate).[2][3]

The flowers are white or cream-coloured and occur singly or in small groups, sometimes at the ends of branches and sometimes in the leaf axils. At the base of each flower there are brown, papery, overlapping bracts. The stamens are arranged in 5 bundles around the flower, each bundle containing 22 to 25 stamens. Flowering occurs from July to October but mostly in September. The fruit are woody capsules 5–5.9 mm (0.20–0.23 in) long with the sepals remaining as long curved teeth.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca calycina was first formally described in 1812 by Robert Brown in Hortus Kewensis.[4][5] The specific epithet (calycina) is from the Greek kalyx, calyx, (collectively the sepals).[3]

Distribution and habitat

This melaleuca occurs from the Stirling Range to Cape Arid[2] in the Coolgardie, Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions.[6] It grows in a wide range of soils on flats, laterite and the edges of swamps.[7]

Conservation status

Melaleuca calycina is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.[6]

References
  1. "Melaleuca calycina". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 44–45. ISBN 1876334983.
  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. 108. ISBN 9781922137517.
  4. "Melaleuca calycina". APNI. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  5. Brown, Robert; Aiton, William Townsend (1812). Hortus kewensis. London. p. 416. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  6. "Melaleuca calycina". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  7. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 392. ISBN 0646402439.
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