Melaleuca exuvia

Melaleuca exuvia is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is easily distinguished by its unusual rough, minni ritchi bark which peels to reveal a new layer of smooth, salmon-pink bark. It is a newly described (2004) species which was formerly included in Melaleuca uncinata.

Melaleuca exuvia
Melaleuca exuvia bark
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. exuvia
Binomial name
Melaleuca exuvia
(K.J.Cowley) Craven

Description

Melaleuca exuvia is a large shrub growing to 6 m (20 ft) tall with rough, pinkish-grey bark which peels annually in a pattern known as minni ritchi to reveal new, smooth salmon-pink bark. It often has more than one stem and a crown up to 9 m (30 ft) across. Its leaves are erect, cylinder-shaped, linear to narrow elliptic and circular in cross-section, narrowing to a usually hooked end. They are 7–30 mm (0.3–1 in) long and 0.6–1.3 mm (0.02–0.05 in) in diameter.[1][2]

The flowers are white to yellow and arranged in heads containing 3 to 8 groups of flowers in threes. The petals are oval in shape, 1–1.4 mm (0.04–0.06 in) long and the stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower, each bundle containing 5 to 8 stamens. Flowering occurs in late spring and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules 4.5–5 mm (0.18–0.20 in) long, often retained on the stems for many years.[1][2]

Taxonomy and naming

The first formal description of this plant was made in 2004 by Lyndley Craven and Brendan Lepschi in Australian Systematic Botany[3] from a specimen found at Key Rocks near Norseman.[4] The specific epithet (exuvia) is from the Latin word meaning "cast skin" or "slough", referring to the unusual way this species sheds its bark.[1]

Distribution and habitat

This melaleuca occurs in a small area in and between the Lort River, Lake Johnson and Queen Victoria Spring districts[1][2] in the Coolgardie, Great Victoria Desert and Mallee biogeographic regions, growing sandy soils near drainage channels and the edge of salt lakes.[5]

Conservation status

Melaleuca exuvia is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.[5]

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References
  1. Brophy, Joseph J.; Craven, Lyndley A.; Doran, John C. (2013). Melaleucas : their botany, essential oils and uses. Canberra: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. pp. 159–160. ISBN 9781922137517.
  2. Weier, Leilani. "Melaleuca exuvia". Australian National Botanic Garden. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  3. Craven, Lyn A.; Lepschi, Brendan J.; Broadhurst, Linda; Byrne, Margaret (2004). "Taxonomic revision of the broombush complex in Western Australia (Myrtaceae, Melaleuca uncinata s.l.)". Australian Systematic Botany. 17 (3): 262. doi:10.1071/SB04001. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  4. "Melaleuca exuvia". APNI. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  5. "Melaleuca exuvia". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
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