Melaleuca squarrosa
Melaleuca squarrosa
Melaleuca squarrosa is an indigenous Australian plant from the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae ).
Features
Melaleuca squarrosa is a shrub or small tree, reaching heights of growth of up to 12 m. The bark is papers. The leaves are arranged opposite to almost constantly. They are oval to broadly oval, 5-15 mm long and 4-7 mm wide. The blade is sharp end pointed up sharp, there are 5-7 longitudinal nerves visible. The leaf surface is glabrous or sometimes hairy. The petiole is long and 1 mm.
The inflorescences are terminal, dense spikes of 1.5-4 cm in length. The inflorescence axis is hairy. The flowers are in threes in the axils of bracts. They are white to yellowish, the petals are sometimes dyed pink. The petals are oval to circular, and up to 2 mm long.
The fruit is cup-shaped and has a diameter of approximately 4 mm. The opening is about 3 mm. The sepals do not remain on the fruit.
Dissemination and locations
Melaleuca squarrosa is native to Australia and is found in the states of South Australia, New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria.
In New South Wales the species grows in heaths and dry Sklerophyll forest in damp locations. It comes in the coastal areas and the neighboring hills of Sydney before southward.
In Tasmania Melaleuca squarrosa is a 2 to 3 m high scrub with closed vegetation. This scrub grows on poorly drained peat layers above. In addition to the dominant Melaleuca squarrosa, which occupies approximately 75 % of the area, occur on shrubs still squamea Melaleuca, Banksia marginata, Hakea epiglottis and Acacia mucronata. At vacancies grow Button grass and sedges such as Baloskion tetraphyllum, Leptocarpus tenax, Lepyrodia tasmanica and Gahnia grandis. This vegetation type is widespread in western Tasmania, but also occurs in the northeast and northwest of the island.
Taxonomy
The type Melaleuca squarrosa in 1802 by James Edward Smith first described in Volume 6 of the " Transactions of the Linnean Society of London ." He was referring to a work by Donn in which he had already used the name to describe without the kind.