Melaleuca cordata
| Melaleuca cordata | |
|---|---|
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| Melaleuca cordata flowers and fruits | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Melaleuca |
| Species: | M. cordata |
| Binomial name | |
| Melaleuca cordata Turcz.[1] | |
Melaleuca cordata is a small, spreading shrub with erect branches in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. Its unusual foliage and long flowering period may make it suitable as a garden plant.
Description
Melaleuca cordata is an erect, bushy shrub with heart-shaped leaves about 30 centimetres (10 in) long and wide with a very short, or no stalk. The leaves are glabrous and spirally arranged around the stem with about 5–8 veins and a pointed end. The flowers are deep pink to purplish-red, forming roughly spherical heads of flowers, thickly clustered on or near the ends of the stems. The flowers appear for extended periods from late spring to mid-summer. The capsules are roughly spherical, about 4 millimetres (0.2 in) in diameter, oval-shaped clusters.[2]
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Taxonomy and naming
Melaleuca cordata was first formally described in 1852 by the Russian botanist, Nikolai Turczaninow.[1] The specific epithet (cordata) is from the Latin cordatus, meaning "heart-shaped".[3]
Distribution and habitat
Melaleuca cordata is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia from the Geraldton-Mullewa districts south the Lake Grace-Lake King area and east to Coolgardie.[2] It occurs in the Coolgardie, Avon Wheatbelt, Geraldton Sandplains, Mallee and Warren biogeographic regions.[4] It grows in a range of habitats including sandy, often gravelly soils on sandplains.[5]
Conservation
Melaleuca cordata is listed as "not threatened" by the Western Australian government department of parks and wildlife.[4]
References
- 1 2 "Melaleuca cordata". APNI. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- 1 2 Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 66–67. ISBN 1876334983.
- ↑ "Wiktionary". Wiktionary. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- 1 2 "Melaleuca cordata". FloraBase. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ↑ Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 392. ISBN 0646402439.