Melaleuca rigidifolia

Melaleuca rigidifolia is a shrub in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is similar to Melaleuca plumea with its pink or purple flowers but is distinguished from that species by its lack of fluffy hairs on the flowers and its spherical clusters of fruits.

Melaleuca rigidifolia
M. rigidifolia growing 42 km north of Ravensthorpe
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. rigidifolia
Binomial name
Melaleuca rigidifolia

Description

Melaleuca rigidifolia is a bushy shrub with fibrous bark usually growing to a height of about 3.5 m (10 ft). Its leaves are arranged alternately, 5–19.5 mm (0.2–0.8 in) long and 0.8–2.3 mm (0.03–0.09 in) wide, glabrous and linear, lance-shaped or narrow oval in shape.[2]

The flowers are deep pink to purple, in heads on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering and sometimes in the upper leaf axils. The heads are up to 18 mm (0.7 in) in diameter with 4 to 9 groups of flowers in threes. The petals are 0.6–1.5 mm (0.02–0.06 in) long and fall off as the flowers mature. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower, each bundle with 2 to 6 stamens. Flowers appear between July and December. The fruit that follow are woody capsules 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long forming almost spherical clusters.[2][3]

M. rigidifolia leaves and flowers
M. rigidifolia fruit

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca rigidifolia was first formally described in 1852 by Nikolai Turczaninow in "Bulletin de la classe physico-mathematique de l'Academie Imperiale des sciences de Saint-Petersburg".[1][4] The specific epithet (rigidifolia) is from the Latin words rigidus meaning "stiff", "hard" or "inflexible"[5]:753 and folia meaning "leaves"[5]:340 referring to the stiff leaves of this melaleuca.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca rigidifolia occurs in and between the Stirling Range, Albany, Lake Cronin and Esperance districts[2] in the Coolgardie, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest and Mallee biogeographic regions.[6] It grows in a range of vegetation associations and soils on salty claypans and gravel pits and sometimes near railway lines.[7]

Conservation

This melaleuca is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.[6]

gollark: I mean, it's interesting, but during those occasional times where your association would be something other than `=` that information can just go in the key.
gollark: Or, if you will, `Map key (association, value)`...
gollark: So... key/association/value?
gollark: So it's just a fancy key/value map?
gollark: We need more TIS-100 (multiple nodes with very limited functionality exchanging data)-ish esolangs.

References
  1. "Melaleuca rigidifolia". APNI. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  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. 307. ISBN 9781922137517.
  3. Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 218–219. ISBN 1876334983.
  4. Turczaninow, Nikolai (1852). Bulletin de la classe physico-mathematique de l'Academie Imperiale des sciences de Saint-Petersburg, Volumes 10-11. St. Petersburg. p. 342. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  5. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  6. "Melaleuca rigidifolia". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  7. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 397. ISBN 0646402439.
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