Melaleuca sparsiflora

Melaleuca sparsiflora is a shrub in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It generally grows in heavy soils on the edges of salt lakes and has only one or two flowers at the ends of it branches, unlike the many-flowered heads or spikes of others in the genus Melaleuca.

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

Description

Melaleuca sparsiflora is a shrub which grows to a height of up to 4 m (10 ft). Its leaves are arranged in alternating pairs at right angles to the ones above and below (decussate) so that the leaves are in four rows along the stems. They are 3–8 mm (0.1–0.3 in) long, 1–2.2 mm (0.04–0.09 in) wide, covered with short, soft hairs, narrow elliptic or narrow egg-shaped and crescent-shaped in cross section.[2]

The flowers are white or cream, a single flower (or rarely a pair) on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering and are about 10 mm (0.4 in) in diameter. The petals are 3.5 mm (0.1 in) long and fall off as the flowers mature. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower, each bundle with 11 to 26 stamens. Flowers appear in spring and the fruit that follow are woody capsules 3.8–5.5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long.[2][3][4]

M. sparsiflora growing in the Dowak Nature Reserve
M. sparsiflora fruit

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca sparsiflora was first formally described in 1847 by Nikolai Turczaninow in "Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou".[1][5] The specific epithet (sparsiflora) is derived from the Latin words sparsus meaning "scatter" or "strew"[6]:731 and flos meaning "blossom"[6]:605 referring to small number of flowers in each inflorescence.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca sparsiflora occurs in and between the Marvel Loch, Oldfield River and Salmon Gums districts[2] in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions.[4][7] It grows in eucalypt woodland and melaleuca thickets in sand, clay or loam on gentle ridges, flats and depressions, favouring the edges of salt pans.[8]

Conservation

Melaleuca sparsiflora is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.[7]

References
  1. "Melaleuca sparsiflora". APNI. Retrieved 22 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. 330. ISBN 9781922137517.
  3. Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. p. 132. ISBN 1876334983.
  4. Corrick, Margaret G.; Fuhrer, Bruce A. (2009). Wildflowers of southern Western Australia (3rd ed.). [Kenthurst, N.S.W.]: Rosenberg Pub. p. 135. ISBN 9781877058844. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  5. Turczaninow, Nikolai (1847). Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou, Volume 20. St. Petersburg. p. 167. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  6. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  7. "Melaleuca sparsiflora". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  8. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 397. ISBN 0646402439.
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