Melaleuca nodosa
| Melaleuca nodosa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Melaleuca |
| Species: | M. nodosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Melaleuca nodosa[1] (Sol. ex Gaertn.) Sm. | |
Melaleuca nodosa, commonly known as the prickly-leaved paperbark, is a shrub native to eastern Australia in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia.[2]
German botanist Joseph Gaertner described the prickly-leaved paperbark from material in the collection of Joseph Banks, as Metrosideros nodosa, in his De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum, 1788.[3] James Edward Smith gave it its current binomial name in 1797.[1]
Melaleuca nodosa is a shrub which grows from 1 to 4 m (3-13 ft) high with thick, papery bark. The stiff linear leaves are 1-4 cm long and 1-3 mm wide,[2] with sharp tips.[4] The white to yellow flowerheads occur from September to November, most prevalent in October.[5] They are roughly globular in shape.[4]
It grows on alluvial soils, from sandy through shale- to clay-based, as well as heathlands, and can form dense stands (thickets). Areas it grows in often have poor drainage. Associated heathland species include bracelet honey myrtle (Melaleuca armillaris), heath banksia (Banksia ericifolia), smooth-barked apple (Angophora costata) and red bloodwood (Corymbia gummifera), and woodland species scribbly gum (Eucalyptus sclerophylla), Parramatta red gum (E. parramattensis), narrow-leaved apple (Angophora bakeri), and white feather honeymyrtle (Melaleuca decora).[5] Its presence in wallum heathland can indicate a patch of saltier soil.[6]
Native bees, honeybees and possibly beetles and flies pollinate the species.[5]
Melaleuca nodosa has been recorded as a host for several mistletoe species Amyema congener, A. gaudichaudii, Dendrophthoe curvata and D. vitellina.[7]
Melaleuca nodosa adapts readily to cultivation and grows best in full sun and with extra moisture. It is not widely grown.[4] It has potential as a hedging plant.[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Melaleuca nodosa (Sol. ex Gaertn.) Sm.". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 New South Wales Flora Online: Melaleuca nodosa by G. Wilson, Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia.
- ↑ "Metrosideros nodosa Sol. ex Gaertn.". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Walters, Brian (February 2010). "Melaleuca nodosa". Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) website. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Benson, Doug; McDougall, Lyn (1998). "Ecology of Sydney plant species:Part 6 Dicotyledon family Myrtaceae". Cunninghamia 5 (4): 809–987.
- ↑ Bryan, W. (1973). "A review of research findings concerned with pastoral development on the wallum of south-eastern Queensland". Tropical Grasslands 7 (2): 175–94.
- ↑ Downey, Paul O. (1998). "An inventory of host species for each aerial mistletoe species (Loranthaceae and Viscaceae) in Australia". Cunninghamia 5 (3): 685–720.
- ↑ Oakman, Harry (1995). Harry Oakman's What Flowers When: The Complete Guide to Flowering Times in Tropical and Subtropical Gardens. Univ. of Queensland Press. p. 129. ISBN 0702228397.