Melaleuca globifera

Melaleuca globifera is a shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a bushy, small tree with papery bark and spherical heads of flowers on the ends of the branches.

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

Description

Melaleuca globifera grows to a height of about 10 m (30 ft) and has light brown, papery bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately, 26–66 mm (1–3 in) long and 7.0–20.5 mm (0.3–0.8 in), flat, oblong, thick, usually a slightly pointed end and with 5 to 7 parallel veins.[1][2]

The flowers are in heads at the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering (and sometimes in the upper leaf axils). Each head has between 12 and 20 groups of flowers in threes 30–35 mm (1.2–1.4 in) in diameter. The petals are 1.7–2.5 mm (0.07–0.1 in) long and fall off as the flower ages. The stamens are white to creamy yellow, arranged in 5 bundles around the flower, each bundle containing 7 to 10 stamens. Flowering occurs from June to September and is followed by the fruit which are woody capsules in globular clusters with a diameter of 20 mm (0.8 in).[1][2]

M. globifera at Lucky Bay in the Cape Le Grand National Park
M. globifera bark

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1812 by Robert Brown in the Hortus Kewensis of William Aiton.[3][4] The specific epithet (globifera) is from the Latin globus and -fer meaning "carrying", referring to the spherical fruiting clusters of this species.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca globifera occurs on the coast near Esperance including the Cape le Grand and Cape Arid national parks, and on the nearby islands of the Recherche Archipelago[1][2] in the Esperance Plains biogeographic region.[5] It grows on white or grey sand, on granite outcrops and near salt lakes.[6]

Conservation status

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

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References
  1. Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 126–127. ISBN 1876334983.
  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. 180. ISBN 9781922137517.
  3. "Melaleuca globifera". APNI. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  4. Aiton, William (1812). Hortus Kewensis (Volume IV) (2nd ed.). Paternoster Row: Longeman, Rees, Orme and Brown. p. 411. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  5. "Melaleuca globifera". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  6. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 393. ISBN 0646402439.
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