Melaleuca brophyi

Melaleuca brophyi is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small to medium-sized shrub with small, fleshy leaves and clusters of fruit that resemble soccer balls.

Melaleuca brophyi
M. brophyi near Salmon Gums
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. brophyi
Binomial name
Melaleuca brophyi
(K.J.Cowley) Craven[1]

Description

Melaleuca brophyi is a shrub which grows to a height of between 0.3 and 3 m (1 and 10 ft). Its leaves are crowded, spirally arranged, fleshy, warty, almost circular in cross-section and have prominent oil glands. The leaves are 5–16 mm (0.2–0.6 in) long.[2][3]

Small, yellow, almost spherical groups of flowers about 14 mm (0.6 in) in diameter appear on the ends of the branches between June and November. As with other melaleucas, the stamens are in groups of five and in this species there are about three to six stamens per bundle. The fruit are woody capsules in small, spherical clusters with a diameter of about 10 mm (0.4 in).[3]

M. brophyi leaves, flowers and fruit

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca brophyi was first described in 1999 by Lyndley Craven from a specimen found "about 1.8 km (1,800 m) south of Lake Biddy on the road to Newdegate".[4] The specific epithet (brophyi) is in recognition of the work of Joseph J. Brophy for his work on essential oils in the families Myrtaceae and Rutaceae.[5][6]

Distribution and habitat

This melaleuca occurs between Southern Cross, Norseman and Esperance[3] in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions in Western Australia.[7] It grows in black clay in saline, low-lying areas.[8]

Conservation status

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

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References
  1. Craven. "New combinations in Melaleuca for Australian species of Callistemon (Myrtaceae)." 2006, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 468–475.
  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. 101. ISBN 9781922137517.
  3. Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 38–39. ISBN 1876334983.
  4. "Melaleuca brophyi". APNI. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  5. "School of chemistry: Dr Joe Brophy". University of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  6. Craven, Lyndley; Lepschi, B.J. (1999). "Enumeration of the species and infraspecific taxa of Melaleuca (Myrtaceae) occurring in Australia and Tasmania". Australian Systematic Botany. 12 (6): 819–928. doi:10.1071/sb98019. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  7. "Melaleuca brophyi". 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. 392. ISBN 0646402439.
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