Melaleuca chisholmii

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.

Burra bottlebrush
In White Mountains National Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. chisholmii
Binomial name
Melaleuca chisholmii
Synonyms[1]

Callistemon chisholmi Cheel

Description

Melaleuca chisholmii is a shrub growing to 3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft) tall with rough, dark grey or fibrous brown bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are 25–100 mm (0.98–3.94 in) long, 1–7 mm (0.039–0.276 in) wide, flat, linear to narrow egg-shaped with the narrower end near the base and with the end tapering to a sharp point.[2][3]

The flowers are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering. The spikes are up to 4–50 mm (0.16–1.97 in) in diameter and 60–80 mm (2.4–3.1 in) long with ten to thirty individual flowers. The petals are 3.1–5.6 mm (0.12–0.22 in) long and fall off as the flower ages. There are 25 to 57 stamens in each flower, with red filaments red yellow anthers. Flowering occurs from May to August and is followed by fruit that are woody capsules, 3.7–6.1 mm (0.15–0.24 in) long in cylindrical spikes that remain on the stem for a lengthy period.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

Burra bottlebrush was first formally described in 1925 by Edwin Cheel, who gave it the name Callistemon chisholmii in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales from a specimen collected on the "western watershed, Thompson River Fall, North Queensland".[4][5] In 2006 Lyndley Craven changed the name to Melaleuca chisholmii in the journal Novon.[6] (Cheel gave the incorrect spelling Callistemon chisholmi.)[7] The specific epithet (chisholmii) honours J.R. Chisholm (1855-1927), a botanical collector[8] who collected the type specimen of this species.[2]

Some Australian state herbaria continue to use the name Callistemon chisholmii,[9] but Melaleuca chisholmii is the accepted name in Queensland.[10] Callistemon chisholmii is regarded as a synonym of Melaleuca chisholmii by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.[11]

Distribution and habitat

This melaleuca occurs in higher areas of central Queensland in woodland and forest near watercourses.[2]

Conservation status

Burra bottlebrush is listed as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.[10]

Use in horticulture

Melaleuca chisholmii is a hardy plant from dry inland areas but has been grown successfully in Townsville.[3]

References
  1. "Melaleuca chisholmii". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  2. 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. 117. ISBN 9781922137517.
  3. "Melaleuca chisholmii". Native Plants Queensland - Townsville Branch. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  4. Cheel, Edwin (1925). "Two new species of Callistemon, with notes on certain other species". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 50 (4): 260. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  5. "Callistemon chisholmii". APNI. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  6. "Melaleuca chisholmii". APNI. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  7. "Callistemon chisholmi". APNI. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  8. "Australian Plant Collectors and Illustrators (C)". Council of the Heads of Australian Herbaria. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  9. Udovicic, Frank; Spencer, Roger (2012). "New combinations in Callistemon (Myrtaceae)" (PDF). Muelleria. 30 (1): 23–25. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  10. "Species profile - Melaleuca chisholmii". Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  11. "Callistemon chisholmii". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
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