Melaleuca laxiflora
| Melaleuca laxiflora | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Melaleuca |
| Species: | M. laxiflora |
| Binomial name | |
| Melaleuca laxiflora Turcz. | |
Melaleuca laxiflora is a woody, spreading shrub in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is distinguished by its loosely arranged, mostly lateral pink flower spikes and its smooth, fleshy, oil-dotted leaves. It is often cultivated because of its hardiness and attractive flowers.
Description
Melaleuca laxiflora is a rounded, open shrub growing to a height and width of 0.5–3 metres (2–10 ft) with rough, fibrous bark.
It has glabrous, narrow oval to tear-drop shaped leaves with prominent oil glands, 4.5–28 millimetres (0.2–1 in) long and 1.5–4 millimetres (0.06–0.2 in) wide and spirally arranged around the branches.
The flowers are mauve, pink or purple, sometimes white, in heads of 6 to 20 individual flowers along the sides of the branches. The heads are 20–40 millimetres (0.8–2 in) long and about 20 millimetres (0.8 in) in diameter. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower, each bundle with 12 to 18 stamens. Flowers appear mostly from October to December. The fruits are in loose clusters, each capsule cylindrical, 3–5 millimetres (0.1–0.2 in) long and 3 millimetres (0.1 in) in diameter, with the sepals remaining as teeth around the edge.[1][2]
Taxonomy and naming
Melaleuca laxiflora was first described in 1852 by Nikolai Turczaninow in "Bulletin de la classe physico-mathematique de l'Academie Imperiale des sciences de Saint-Petersburg".[3] The specific epithet (laxiflora) is from the Latin words laxus, meaning "loose" and flos meaning "flower"[4] "in reference to the flowers being loosely or sparsely inserted in the inflorescence".[2]
Distribution and habitat
Melaleuca laxiflora occurs from the Mollerin district south and east to the Ongerup and Norseman districts[1] in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie and Mallee biogeographic regions.[5] It grows in sandy or clayey soils, often over granite, on flats and roadsides.[6]
Uses
Horticulture
This species has frequently been cultivated and is a hardy plant in a well-drained, sunny position.[7] It is suited to semi-dry and temperate climates rather than humid areas.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed. ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 18–19. ISBN 1876334983.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 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. 218. ISBN 9781922137517.
- ↑ "Melaleuca laxiflora". APNI. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ↑ "laxiflora". Wiktionary. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ↑ "Melaleuca laxiflora". FloraBase. Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Western Australia.
- ↑ Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 394. ISBN 0646402439.
- ↑ Wrigley, John W.; Fagg, Murray (1983). Australian native plants : a manual for their propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping (2nd ed. ed.). Sydney: Collins. p. 265. ISBN 0002165759.
External links
Turczaninow, Nikolai (1852). Bulletin de la classe physico-mathematique de l'Academie Imperiale des sciences de Saint-Petersburg, Volumes 10-11. St. Petersburg. Retrieved 15 March 2015.