Melochia umbellata

Melochia umbellata is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. Its specific epithet comes from the Latin umbellatus (umbel-like), referring to the inflorescence.[2]

Melochia umbellata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Melochia
Species:
M. umbellata
Binomial name
Melochia umbellata
Synonyms
  • Visenia indica C.C.Gimelin
  • Visenia umbellata Houtt.
  • Melochia indica (Gmel.) Kurz.[1]

Description
Flowers
Fruits

Melochia umbellata is a shrub or small tree, growing to 2–15 m in height. It grows rapidly and is able to colonise disturbed land.[3] It has large, broadly ovate, leaves 90–300 mm long. The flowers are usually pale pink to red. The seeds are winged and wind-dispersed.[3]

Distribution and habitat

The plant is native to a region extending from India eastwards through Southeast Asia to north-western Australia and New Guinea. It occurs in secondary vegetation and forest clearings, on rocky slopes and along the edges of rivers and forests, often in seasonally dry soil.[2]

It has been introduced elsewhere and is cultivated widely to provide shade for young trees in timber and coffee plantations. Melochia is relished by ruminants when offered as a cut-and-carry feed.[4] It has become an invasive weed on the Island of Hawaiʻi where it was extensively planted in the Hilo area during a 1920s reforestation program.[3]

References

Notes
  1. "Melochia umbellata". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2010-12-08.
  2. Flora of Australia Online.
  3. Starr et al. (2003).
  4. Pers.comm.

Sources

Media related to Melochia umbellata at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Melochia umbellata at Wikispecies

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