Melaleuca grieveana

Melaleuca grieveana is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is similar to Melaleuca brophyi with its heads of yellow flowers and almost cylindrical leaves. The main difference is that the leaves of this species, but not those of Melaleuca brophyi are covered with soft hairs.

Melaleuca grieveana

Priority One — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. grieveana
Binomial name
Melaleuca grieveana

Description

Melaleuca grieveana is a shrub growing to 1.2 m (4 ft) tall with young stems that are usually covered with soft hairs. Its leaves are linear to very narrow egg-shaped, almost cylindrical in cross-section, 5–19.5 mm (0.2–0.8 in) long, 0.8–1.6 mm (0.03–0.06 in) wide and usually covered with soft, silky, woolly hairs.[1][2]

The flowers are creamy-white to yellow and are arranged in heads on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering, sometimes also in the upper leaf axils. The heads are up to 14 mm (0.6 in) in diameter and composed of 4 to 8 groups of flowers in threes. The petals are 1.4–1.6 mm (0.055–0.063 in) long and fall off as the flower ages. There are five bundles of stamens around the flower, each with 3 to 6 stamens. Flowering occurs in spring and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules 2.0–2.5 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long.[1][2]

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca grieveana was first formally described in 1999 by Lyndley Craven in Australian Systematic Botany from a specimen collected near Wyalkatchem in 1937.[3][4] The specific epithet (grieveana) is in honour of the Australian botanist, Brian Grieve who wrote books on the identification of Western Australian flora.[1]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca grieveana occurs in the Cowcowing, Narembeen and Moorine Rock districts[1] in the Avon Wheatbelt and Mallee biogeographic regions where it grows in sandplain vegetation or mallee.[5]

Conservation status

Melaleuca grieveana is listed as "Priority One" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife[5] meaning that it is "known from one or a few locations (generally five or less) which are potentially at risk".[6]

References
  1. 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. 184. ISBN 9781922137517.
  2. Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. p. 38. ISBN 1876334983.
  3. "Melaleuca grieveana". APNI. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  4. Craven, L. A.; Lepschi, B. J. (1999). "Enumeration of the species and infraspecific taxa of Melaleuca (Myrtaceae) occurring in Australia and Tasmania". Australian Systematic Botany. 12 (6): 878. doi:10.1071/SB98019.
  5. "Melaleuca grieveana". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  6. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
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