Melaleuca sciotostyla

Melaleuca sciotostyla, commonly known as Wongan melaleuca, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an endangered species with only 476 mature plants known in 2001. It is closely related and very similar to Melaleuca haplantha but has narrower leaves and fewer stamens per flower than that species.

Wongan melaleuca
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. sciotostyla
Binomial name
Melaleuca sciotostyla
Barlow[1]

Description

Melaleuca sciotostyla is a shrub to about 1.5 m (5 ft) tall. Its leaves are arranged in alternating pairs, each pair at right angles to the ones above and below (decussate) so that the leaves form four rows along the stems. Each leaf is 6–12.5 mm (0.2–0.5 in) long and 0.8–2.2 mm (0.03–0.09 in) wide, linear to narrow elliptic in shape, slightly fleshy and with the end tapering to a point.[2]

The flowers are cream to white and arranged in small heads on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering and sometimes in the upper leaf axils. Each head is up to 17 mm (0.7 in) in diameter and contains up to four individual flowers. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flowers and there are 12 to 17 stamens per bundle. The main flowering period is in early spring and is followed by the fruit which are papery or corky, barrel-shaped capsules 5–5.5 mm (0.20–0.22 in) long.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca sciotostyla was first formally described in 1988 by Bryan Barlow in Australian Systematic Botany[5] as a new species.[1] The specific epithet (sciotostyla) is from the Ancient Greek skiotos meaning "shaded by gradation in colour"[6] referring to the coloration of the end of the style which appears to have been dyed.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca sciotostyla is confined to the Cadoux, Wongan Hills and Meckering districts[2] in the Avon Wheatbelt and Jarrah Forest biogeographic regions[4][7] growing in clayey sand and laterite on scree slopes.[8]

Conservation

Melaleuca sciotostyla is listed as "endangered" by the Australian Government Department of the Environment.[9] It is classed as "Declared Rare and Priority Flora" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife[8] meaning that it is likely to become extinct or rare and therefore in need of special protection.[10]

References
  1. "Melaleuca sciotostyla". APNI. Retrieved 20 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. 318. ISBN 9781922137517.
  3. Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. p. 78. ISBN 1876334983.
  4. "Approved conservation advice for Melaleuca sciotostyla (Wongan melaleuca)" (PDF). Australian government department of the environment. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  5. Barlow, BA; Cowley, KJ (1988). "Contributions to a revision of (Myrtaceae): 4–6". Australian Systematic Botany. 1 (2): 102. doi:10.1071/SB9880095.
  6. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 220.
  7. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 397. ISBN 0646402439.
  8. "Melaleuca sciotostyla". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  9. "Approved conservation advice for Melaleuca sciotostyla (Wongan melaleuca)" (PDF). Government of Australia department of the environment. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  10. "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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