Flora of Denmark WA - Melaleuca

Melaleuca from Greek melos, black and leucos, white. Refers to the black trunk and white branches of some Asian species.

The following table lists the Melaleuca species which are shown by Florabase to have been collected in Denmark Shire. The second column shows whether the species was included in the book Flora of the South West and under what name if different. If the species was described after Flora of the South West was published, the paper describing the species is noted. Where a species is not included in Flora of the South West I have endeavored to provide some sort of description after the table.

M. blaeriifolia

There have been very few collections of this species within the area covered by the book and perhaps this is why it was excluded.

Melaleuca blaeriifolia usually grows to a height of 1 or 2 m and is dense and intricately branched. Its leaves are egg-shaped to triangular, 2–6 mm long and 1.1–2.5 mm wide with a short stalk. Greenish-yellow cylindrical or spherical heads of flowers either at the ends of branches or in leaf axils on older wood from August to November. The stamens, which give the flowers their colour, are arranged in five bundles around the flower and in this species, there are three to five stamens per bundle. The woody capsules which follow flowering are cylindrical, about 6 mm wide and long, arranged singly or in small groups.

M. citrina

There were no collections for this species in the area covered by the book when it was published. There have subsequently been a few including one in Denmark. This is an east coast species which is widely cultivated so the plant in Denmark was either cultivated or a garden escape.

A shrub, usually to 3m tall and wide, with leaves 26–99 mm long and 4–25 mm wide, obovate with a pointed end. The flowers are red and arranged in spikes on the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering and sometimes also in the upper leaf axils. The spikes are 45–70 mm in diameter and 60–100 mm long.

M. viminalis

There were no collections for this species in the area covered by the book when it was published. There have subsequently been a few including one in Denmark. The species is listed in Florabase as native to Western Australia although there are only a few collections which are all relatively recent. It is very common on the east coast and is widely cultivated so the plant in Denmark could have been either cultivated or a garden escape. It appears it is either a rare native to Western Australia or a weed!

A large shrub or small tree growing to 10 m tall with hard, fibrous, furrowed bark, a number of trunks and usually pendulous branches. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are 25–138 mm long, 3–27 mm wide, more or less flat, narrowly elliptic to narrow obovate the end tapering to a sharp point. Flowering occurs throughout the year but mainly September to December. The flowers are bright red and are arranged in spikes on and around the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering. The spikes are 35–50 mm in diameter and 40–100 mm long with 15 to 50 individual flowers. The petals are 3.4–5.9 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and fall off as the flower ages and the stamens are arranged in five bundles of 9 to 14 around the flower. Fruit are woody capsules 3.8–4.8 mm long and 5–6 mm in diameter.

M. pentagon var. pentagona

The name M. scabra was misapplied to numerous similar species. In a paper in Australian Systematic Botany (12 819–927 (1999)) and a book Melaleucas : their botany, essential oils and uses which is freely available here, the correct name for the species occuring in the Denamrk area was stated to be M. pentagona var. pentagona which has a distribution from the Mount Barker–Albany district to the Esperance district. There has only been one collection identified as this species in Denmark, on the Bibbulmun track west of Parry Road. There have been two iNat observations in Denmark in the Mount Romance, Mount Lindesay area.

M. violacea

The reason this was not included in the book eludes me. There have not been that many collections is the area covered by the book but I would have thought enough to merit inclusion. However, only one collection has so far been made in Denmark in the northwest of the Shire.

A shub usually less than 1.5 m tall with many horizontal, layered branches. Its leaves are in opposite pairs, glabrous, heart-shaped to oblong or oval usually 5–15 mm long, 2–8 mm wide and with a short stalk. Flowering occurs from July to November. Purple or violet flowers, individually or in groups of up to six. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower, each bundle with up to 25 stamens. The fruit are woody capsules, 2.5–3 mm long, 4–6 mm in diameter. The persistent sepals produce a star shape when the fruits are viewed end-on.

Posted on June 12, 2023 08:51 AM by boobook99