Melaleuca serpentina

Melaleuca serpentina is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the Barraba district in Australia. (Some Australian state herbaria continue to use the name Callistemon serpentinus.[2]) It is a shrub with yellow or creamy-green bottlebrush flowers. It is similar to Melaleuca citrina but can be distinguished from that species by its flower colour (red in M. citrina) and its shorter stamens.

Melaleuca serpentina
M. serpentina leaves and flowers
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. serpentina
Binomial name
Melaleuca serpentina
Synonyms[1]

Callistemon serpentinus (Craven) Udovicic & R.D.Spencer

Description

Melaleuca serpentina is a shrub growing to 4 m (10 ft) tall with hard, papery bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are 21–53 mm (0.8–2 in) long, 2–5 mm (0.08–0.2 in) wide, more or less flat, narrow elliptical to egg-shaped with the narrow end towards the base and an end tapering to a sharp point. The leaves have a mid-vein but the lateral veins are obscure and there are many distinct oil glands.[3][4]

The flowers are creamy green to yellow and are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering and also in the leaf axils. The spikes are 30–40 mm (1–2 in) in diameter with 15 to 35 individual flowers. The petals are 2.2–4 mm (0.09–0.2 in) long and fall off as the flower ages and there are 37 to 51 stamens in each flower. Flowering occurs in April, October and December and is followed by fruit that are woody capsules, 4.2–4.6 mm (0.17–0.18 in) long.[3][4]

M. serpentina growing in a small creek at Upper Bingara
M. serpentina leaves, flowers and fruit

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca serpentina was first formally described in 2009 by Lyndley Craven in Novon from a specimen collected adjacent to the Woodsreef asbestos mine near Barraba.[4][1] In 2012, Udovicic and Spencer gave the species the name Callistemon serpentinus,[2] but in 2013, Craven transferred all species previously known as Callistemon to Melaleuca. Some authorities continue to use Callistemon serpentinus.[2] The specific epithet (serpentina) refers to this species often occurring on soils derived from serpentinite.[3]

Callistemon serpentinus is regarded as a synonym of Melaleuca serpentina by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.[5]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca serpentina occurs in the Barraba district growing in grassy woodland on soils derived from serpentinite.[3][4]

References
  1. "Melaleuca serpentina". APNI. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  2. Udovicic, Frank; Spencer, Roger (2012). "New combinations in Callistemon (Myrtaceae)" (PDF). Muelleria. 30 (1): 23–25. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  3. 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. 323. ISBN 9781922137517.
  4. Craven, Lyn A. (2009). "Melaleuca (Myrtaceae) from Australia". Novon. 19 (4): 450. doi:10.3417/2007137. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  5. "Callistemon serpentinus". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
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