Melaleuca punicea

Melaleuca punicea is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the Northern Territory in Australia. Some of the characteristics of this species make it difficult to classify at the genus level. After it was originally described in 1984 as Melaleuca punicea, it was transferred in 1986 to the genus Regelia (as Regelia punicea)[3] but it did not fit well in that genus either. In 1999 it was transferred again to a new genus Petraeomyrtus as P. punicea.[4] Subsequent molecular studies, especially of chloroplast DNA have suggested that it is best placed in Melaleuca along with others from genera including Beaufortia, Callistemon and Regelia.[5] Later publications include this species as Melaleuca punicea.[2]

Melaleuca punicea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. punicea
Binomial name
Melaleuca punicea
Synonyms[2]
  • Regelia punicea (Byrnes) Barlow
  • Petraeomyrtus punicea (Byrnes) Craven

Description

Melaleuca punicea is a spreading shrub growing to about 2.5 m (8 ft) tall. Its leaves are 0.8–2 mm (0.03–0.08 in) long and 0.5–0.9 mm (0.02–0.04 in) wide, with no apparent stalk, narrow triangular in shape, and almost crescent shape in cross section.[2]

The flowers are bright red or orange-red and are arranged in heads containing up to 15 individual flowers. The stamens are in five bundles around the flowers, each bundle containing 9 to 13 stamens. Flowering occurs during the dry season, including from January to November but mainly from June to August and is followed by the fruit, which are cup-shaped capsules, although not as woody as in most other melaleucas.[2][6]

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca punicea was first formally described in 1984 by Norman Byrnes in Austrobaileya.[1] It was then transferred to the genus Regelia (Regelia punicea (Byrnes) Barlow) then to Petraeomyrtus (Petraeomyrtus punicea (Byrnes) Craven) and finally to the present Melaleuca punicea. The specific epithet (punicea) is from the Latin puniceus meaning "purplish-red"[7] referring to the colour of the stamens.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca punicea occurs in Arnhem Land on the sandstone escarpments of the Kakadu National Park.[2][6]

References
  1. "Melaleuca punicea". APNI. Retrieved 18 April 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. 297. ISBN 9781922137517.
  3. Barlow, BA (1986). "Regelia punicea (N.Byrnes) Barlow, comb.nov. (Myrtaceae) from the Northern Territory: Phytogeographic implications". Brunonia. 9 (1): 89–97. doi:10.1071/BRU9860089.
  4. Craven, L. A. (1999). "Generic position of Melaleuca punicea: Petraeomyrtus, gen. nov. (Myrtaceae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 12 (5): 675. doi:10.1071/SB98018.
  5. Edwards, Robert D.; Craven, Lyn A.; Crisp, Michael D.; Cook, Lyn G. (June 2010). "Melaleuca revisited:cpDNA and morphological data confirm that Melaleuca L. (Myrtaceae) is not monophyletic". Taxon. 59 (3): 744–754. doi:10.1002/tax.593007. JSTOR 25677666.
  6. "The genus Regelia". Australian native plant society (Australia). Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  7. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 643.
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