Melaleuca ericifolia
| Swamp paperbark | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| M. ericifolia at Mount Martha, Victoria | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Melaleuca |
| Species: | M.ericifolia |
| Binomial name | |
|
Melaleuca ericifolia Sm. |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
|
Melaleuca ericifolia, commonly known as swamp paperbark, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and the genus Melaleuca, native to south-eastern Australia. It is a rather variable species and some specimens resemble Melaleuca armillaris but its papery bark and smaller, more prolific flower heads distinguish it from that species. It often grows in swampy areas and the draining and clearing of these has reduced the numbers of the species, especially around Port Philip Bay near Melbourne. It is also similar to Melaleuca pustulata, a Tasmanian endemic, but that species only grows in dry heath.
Melaleuca ericifolia is a tall, dense shrub, sometimes a tree growing to a height of 9 m (30 ft) with pale white or brownish papery bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately, sometimes in whorls of three. The leaves are dark green, linear in shape, 5–18 mm (0.2–0.7 in) long and 0.5–1.7 mm (0.02–0.07 in) wide.
The flowers are creamy-white in colour, arranged in heads or spikes on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering. The spikes are up to 20 mm (0.8 in) in diameter and 25 mm (1 in) long and contain 10 to 40 individual flowers. The petals are 1.2–2.2 mm (0.05–0.09 in) long and fall off as the flowers age. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower, each bundle containing 7 to 14 stamens. Flowers appear from October to November in the species' native range and are followed by fruit which are woody capsules 2.5–3.6 mm (0.1–0.1 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) diameter, arranged in oblong cylinders along the stems.
Melaleuca ericifolia was first formally described by English botanist James Edward Smith in 1797 in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. The variety Melaleuca ericifolia var. erubescens which was described by botanist George Bentham in Flora Australiensis in 1867 is currently regarded as a synonym of Melaleuca diosmatifolia. The specific epithet (ericifolia) is a reference to the apparent similarity of the leaves of this species to those of Erica in the family Ericaceae.
...
Wikipedia