Amyema melaleucae

Amyema melaleucae, also known as the tea-tree mistletoe, is a species of flowering plant within the genus Amyema, an epiphytic hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae native to Australia and found in Western Australia and South Australia on the coast, from north of Perth almost to the Victorian border.[4][5][6]

Amyema melaleucae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Santalales
Family: Loranthaceae
Genus: Amyema
Species:
A. melaleucae
Binomial name
Amyema melaleucae
Collections data for A. melaleucae from the Australasian Virtual Herbarium
Synonyms

Amyema leschenaultii Tiegh.
Loranthus melaleucae Lehm.
Loranthus miraculosus var. melaleucae (Miq.) Blakely
Loranthus pendulus var. melaleucae (Miq.) Tate [3]

Description

It is an erect shrub with a single haustorium.[7] The leaves are narrow and lanceolate (20 to 45 mm long and from 2 to 4 (sometimes) 7 mm wide) with no petiole, and rounded at the apex.[7][6] Unlike many other Amyemas, the corolla in bud is smooth.[7][6] The inflorescence consists of an umbel of triads (flowers in groups of three) on a stalk (peduncle).[7][6] The central flower is without a stem (pedicel), while the lateral flowers are on angular pedicels.[7][6] The corolla is club-shaped.[7][6] The flowers are pink and red and may be seen from January to April or August to November.[5] The fruit is almost globular.[7]

Ecology

It grows in coastal scrub, (usually) on Melaleucas.,[8] Barlow (1984)[8] and Paczkowska (1995)[5] both state that is only found on Melaleucas. However, an extensive examination of herbaria records by Downey (1998) showed that it has been found on Casuarina species, Myoporum species, Exocarpos species and Pittosporum species, as well as Melaleuca cardiophylla, M. halmaturorum, M. lanceolata, M. parviflora, M. pauperiflora, Melaleuca pubescens (=M. lanceolata), M. quadrifaria and M. thyoides.[9]

Taxonomy

It was first described by Miquel in 1845 as Loranthus melaleucae,[1][10] who described it from a specimen found growing on a Melaleuca on Rottnest Island. In 1895 it was placed in the genus Amyema by Tieghem.[2]

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gollark: We already have lasers...
gollark: I mean, I probably *could* hack together something for food, I just don't want to.
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gollark: I just do not want to muck around with a stupidly complex føøð production line.

References
  1. "'Australian Plant Name Index (APNI): Amyema melaleucae, IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government". Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  2. van Tieghem, P.E.L. 1895. Bulletin de la Societe Botanique de France 42: 82, 84
  3. Govaerts, R. et.al. 2018. "Plants of the World online: Amyema melaleucae (synonyms)". Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  4. "AVH: Amyema melaleucae (mapview), Australasian Virtual Herbarium". Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  5. "FloraBase: Ameyma melaleucae, Western Australian Herbarium, Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions". Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  6. "Electronic Flora of South Australia species Fact Sheet 'Amyema melaleucae". Government of South Australia, Department of Environment,Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  7. Barlow, B.A. 1984. "Flora of Australia Online: Amyema melaleucae, Data derived from Flora of Australia Volume 22, a product of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia". Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  8. Barlow, B.A. 1984. "Flora of Australia Online: key to Amyema, Data derived from Flora of Australia Volume 22, a product of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia". Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  9. Downey, P.O. 1998. An inventory of host species for each aerial mistletoe species (Loranthaceae and Viscaceae) in Australia. Cunninghamia 5, 685-720.pdf
  10. Miquel, F.A.W. 1845. in Lehmann, J.G.C. (ed.), Loranthaceae. Plantae Preissianae 1(2): 281
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