Melaleuca oxyphylla, commonly known as pointed-leaved honey-myrtle,[2] is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the Eyre Peninsula region of South Australia. It has long, thin greyish branches, small clusters of white or cream flowers and leaves that are distinctively shaped and arranged. It is similar to Melaleuca acuminata but has longer, narrower leaves and shorter stamens.
| Pointed-leaved honey-myrtle | |
|---|---|
| |
| Melaleuca oxyphylla | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Melaleuca |
| Species: | M. oxyphylla
|
| Binomial name | |
| Melaleuca oxyphylla | |
Description
editMelaleuca oxyphylla is a shrub growing to a height of 1–2 m (3–7 ft). Its leaves are covered with soft, silky hairs when young but become glabrous as they mature. They are crowded together in alternating pairs, each pair at right angles to the ones above and below, so that they form four rows along the branchlets (decussate). Each leaf is 5.5–12 mm (0.2–0.5 in) long, 1.2–1.7 mm (0.05–0.07 in) wide, narrow elliptic in shape with a fine, but not prickly tip.[3]
The flowers are white to creamy yellow and are arranged in small heads between the leaves. The heads up to 18 mm (0.7 in) in diameter and contain 1 to 5 individual flowers. The petals are 2–3.2 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long and the stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flowers with 9 to 15 stamens in each bundle. The main flowering season is spring and is followed by fruit which are smooth, woody, roughly spherical capsules, 3.5–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long in scattered clusters along the branches.[2][3][4]
Taxonomy and naming
editThis species was first formally described in 1979 by John Carrick in Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens[5] from a specimen collected by David Symon in the Gawler Ranges, south-west of Yardea. The specific epithet (oxyphylla) is from the Ancient Greek words ὀξύς (oksús) meaning “sharp” or "acute"[6]: 622 and phýllon meaning “leaf”,[6]: 466 referring to the sharp-tipped leaves.[3]
Distribution and habitat
editMelaleuca oxyphylla occurs in the Eyre Peninsula, mostly between Minnipa and Cowell[3][4] growing along creeks in clay soils.[3]
References
edit- ^ "Melaleuca oxyphylla". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ a b Carrick, John; Chornley, Kosmyn (1979). "A review of Melaleuca L. (Myrtaceae) in South Australia" (PDF). Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. 1 (5): 304–306. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d e 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. 263. ISBN 9781922137517.
- ^ a b Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 206–207. ISBN 978-1876334987.
- ^ "Melaleuca oxyphylla". APNI. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ a b Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.