Melaleuca spicigera

Melaleuca spicigera is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has wavy, stem-clasping, blue-green leaves and spikes of pink flowers in spring.

Melaleuca spicigera
M. spicigera lateral flower spikes
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. spicigera
Binomial name
Melaleuca spicigera

Description

Melaleuca spicigera is a shrub with dark, fibrous bark growing to a height of 2–3 m (7–10 ft) and with branchlets that are covered with soft hairs. Its leaves are arranged alternately, 5–15 mm (0.2–0.6 in) long and 2–6 mm (0.08–0.2 in) wide, heart-shaped to oblong and tapering to a blunt point. The leaves are of a blue-green colour, lack a stalk and are wavy or dished, only rarely flat.[2]

The flowers are a shade of pink to purple and are arranged in short spikes on the sides of the branches. Each spike contains 3 to 29 individual flowers and is up to 20 mm (0.79 in) in diameter. The petals are 2.4–3.1 mm (0.09–0.1 in) long and fall off as the flowers mature. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flowers and there are 9 to 16 stamens per bundle. The flowering period is in September or October and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules 5–6 mm (0.2–0.2 in) long with teeth around the edges and in clusters along the branches.[2][3][4]

M. spicigera growing near Hyden
M. spicigera fruit
M. spicigera bark

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca spicigera was first formally described in 1902 by Spencer Le Marchant Moore in Journal of Botany[1] from a specimen collected by James Drummond in 1843. The specific epithet (spicigera) is from a Latin word spīca meaning “ear of grain”[5] in reference to the flowers being arranged in a spike.[2]

Distribution and habitat

This melaleuca occurs in and between the Ongerup, Dowerin and Salmon Gums districts[2][3] in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions.[6] It grows in sandy, clayey or gravelly soils on undulating plains.[7]

Conservation

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

Use in horticulture

This species is ornamental and hardy in cultivation in temperate regions, growing in well-drained soils in full sun or semi-shade. It is frost tolerant.[3]

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References
  1. "Melaleuca spicigera". APNI. Retrieved 24 April 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. 334. ISBN 9781922137517.
  3. Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 178–179. ISBN 1876334983.
  4. Moore, Spencer le Marchant (1902). "Melaleuca spicigera". Journal of Botany, British and Foreign. 40: 25.
  5. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 735.
  6. "Melaleuca spicigera". 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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