Melaleuca procera

Melaleuca procera is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, spindly shrub with cylinder-shaped leaves and heads of pinkish flowers in later spring or early summer.

Melaleuca procera
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. procera
Binomial name
Melaleuca procera

Description

Melaleuca procera is a sparsely-branched shrub, growing to 2 m (7 ft) tall. Its leaves are arranged alternately, 5.5–19 mm (0.2–0.7 in) long, 0.9–1.5 mm (0.04–0.06 in) wide, linear in shape and nearly circular in cross-section, tapering to a rounded end with a sharp point.[2][3]

The flowers are a shade of pink to mauve, arranged in heads on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering and sometimes also in the upper leaf axils. The heads are up to 30 mm (1 in) in diameter and contain 2 to 9 groups of flowers in threes. The outer surface of the flower cup (the hypanthium) is hairy. The petals are 2.5–3.5 mm (0.098–0.14 in) long and fall off soon after the flower opens. There are five bundles of stamens around the flower, each with 8 to 10 stamens. Flowering occurs in November or December, and is followed by fruit which are solitary, woody capsules, 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca procera was first formally described in 1999 by Lyndley Craven in Australian Systematic Botany from a specimen collected on the Lake King to Norseman road.[1][4] The specific epithet (procera) is derived from Latin word procerus meaning “tall” or "slender",[5] referring slender habit of this species.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca procera occurs in and between the Kulin, Kalgarin and Lake Grace districts[2] in the Avon Wheatbelt and Mallee biogeographic regions.[6] It grows in sandy loam and gravel[7] in low open heath.[2]

Conservation

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

References
  1. "Melaleuca procera". APNI. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  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. 292. ISBN 9781922137517.
  3. Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 226–227. ISBN 1876334983.
  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): 899. doi:10.1071/SB98019.
  5. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 410.
  6. "Melaleuca procera". 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. 396. ISBN 0646402439.
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