Melaleuca cordata

Melaleuca cordata is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub with erect branches, heart-shaped leaves and clusters of pinkish-red to purple flowers over an extended period.

Melaleuca cordata
M. cordata flowers and fruit
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. cordata
Binomial name
Melaleuca cordata

Description

Melaleuca cordata is an erect, bushy shrub which grows to a height of between 0.3 and 3 m (1 and 10 ft) with dark grey, fibrous bark. Its leaves are egg-shaped to heart-shaped, between 7.5 and 30 mm (0.3 and 1 in) long and wide with a very short, or no stalk. They are glabrous when mature, spirally arranged around the stem with 5 to 9 veins and have a pointed end.[2][3]

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 fruit which follow flowering are woody capsules about 4 mm (0.2 in) in diameter, arranged in roughly spherical clusters.[2][3]

M. cordata growing near Perenjori
M. cordata young leaves

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 word, cordatus, meaning "cordate" or "heart-shaped",[2][4][5][6] referring to the shape of the leaves.[2]

Distribution and habitat

This melaleuca is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia from the Geraldton-Mullewa districts south to the Lake Grace-Lake King area and east to Coolgardie.[3] It occurs in the Coolgardie, Avon Wheatbelt, Geraldton Sandplains, Mallee and Warren biogeographic regions.[7] It grows in a range of habitats including sandy, often gravelly soils on sandplains.[8]

Conservation status

Melaleuca cordata is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.[7]

Use in horticulture

Its unusual foliage and long flowering period may make M. cordata an attractive and useful garden plant. It grows in a wide range of soils in temperate areas with low winter rainfall.[3]

References
  1. "Melaleuca cordata". APNI. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  2. 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. 131. ISBN 9781922137517.
  3. 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.
  4. Francis Aubie Sharr (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings. Kardinya, Western Australia: Four Gables Press. p. 170. ISBN 9780958034180.
  5. Short, Emma; George, Alex (2013). A Primer of Botanical Latin with Vocabulary. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. p. 148. ISBN 9781107693753.
  6. William T. Stearn (1992). Botanical Latin. History, grammar, syntax, terminology and vocabulary (4th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. p. 391.
  7. "Melaleuca cordata". FloraBase. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  8. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 392. ISBN 0646402439.
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