Melaleuca penicula

Melaleuca penicula is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a rare species only known from the Fitzgerald River National Park and resembles Melaleuca eximia with its spikes of red flowers but its leaves and stamen bundles are different.

Melaleuca penicula

Priority Four — Rare Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. penicula
Binomial name
Melaleuca penicula
(K.J.Cowley) Craven[1]
Synonyms[1]

Melaleuca coccinea subsp. penicula K.J.Cowley

Description

Melaleuca penicula is an erect, woody shrub growing to 2.5 m (8 ft) tall. Its leaves are arranged in alternating pairs (decussate) so that there are four rows of leaves along the stem. The leaves are 5.5–10.3 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long, 2–3.3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) wide, narrow egg-shaped and tapering to a point. Young leaves are covered with soft, silky hairs. The stalk of the leaf is attached to the underside of the leaf and the upper surface of the leaf faces the stem. The oil glands are distinct.[1][2]

The flowers are red to scarlet and arranged in spikes up to 60 mm (2 in) wide and contain about 40 groups of flowers in threes. The petals are about 3 mm (0.1 in) long and fall off as the flower opens. The outer surface of the floral cup (the hypanthium) is usually hairy and there are five bundles of stamens around the flower, each with 10 to 14 stamens. Flowering over a long period from October to February and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules, about 5 mm (0.2 in) long in tight cylindrical clusters.[1][2]

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca penicula was first formally described as a subspecies of Melaleuca coccinea by Kirsten Cowley in 1990 from a specimen collected in the North Fitzgerald River National Park[3][4] but later elevated to species rank by Lyndley Craven and Brendan Lepschi in 1999.[5][6] The specific epithet is a Latin word meaning "brush"[7] referring to the brush-like stamen bundles.[1]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca penicula occurs in the Fitzgerald River National Park[1][2] in the Esperance Plains biogeographic region[8] where it grows in sandy soils near granite outcrops.[9]

Conservation

Melaleuca papillosa is listed as "Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife[8] meaning that it is rare or near threatened.[10]

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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. p. 277. ISBN 9781922137517.
  2. Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 106–107. ISBN 1876334983.
  3. "Melaleuca coccinea subsp. penicula". APNI. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  4. Cowley, KJ; Quinn, FC; Barlow, BA; Craven, LA (1990). "Contributions to a revision of (Myrtaceae): 7–10". Australian Systematic Botany. 3 (2): 17–179. doi:10.1071/SB9900165. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  5. "Melaleuca penicula". APNI. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  6. Craven, L. A.; Lepschi, B. J. (1999). "Enumeration of the species and infraspecific taxa of Melaleuca (Myrtaceae) occurring in Australia and Tasmania". Australian Systematic Botany. 12 (6): 894. doi:10.1071/SB98019.
  7. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 167.
  8. "Melaleuca penicula". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  9. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 396. ISBN 0646402439.
  10. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
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