Melaleuca monantha

Melaleuca monantha is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to an area in Queensland, Australia. It is a shrub, similar to Melaleuca minutifolia with very small leaves but the leaves lack oil glands and its flowers occur singly, rather than in pairs. It is also similar to Melaleuca sylvana but is usually multi-stemmed and has a more dense crown than that species.

Melaleuca monantha
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. monantha
Binomial name
Melaleuca monantha
Synonyms[1]

Melaleuca minutifolia subsp. monantha Barlow

Description

Melaleuca monantha is a shrub growing to 7 m (20 ft) tall. Its leaves are arranged in alternating pairs, (decussate) so that they are in four rows along the stems. Each leaf is oval to egg-shaped, 0.9–3 mm (0.04–0.1 in) long, 0.5–1 mm (0.02–0.04 in) wide tapering to a point on the end.[2][3]

The flowers are white and arranged in small heads on the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering or in the upper leaf axils. The heads are up to 12 mm (0.5 in) in diameter and composed of up to 8 individual flowers. The petals are 1.2–1.6 mm (0.05–0.06 in) long and fall off as the flower ages. There are five bundles of stamens around the flower, each with 6 to 14 stamens. Flowering occurs from October to February and is followed by fruit that are woody capsules 2–3.2 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long in small, loose clusters.[2][3]

Habit 5 km (3.1 mi) south of the Palmer River

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described in 1987 by Bryan Alwyn Barlow as a subspecies of Melaleuca minutifolia. The type specimen was collected near Granite Creek, near Mareeba in Far North Queensland and the description was published in Australian Systematic Botany.[4][5] It was raised to species status in 1999 by Lyndley Craven.[6][7] The specific epithet (monantha) is from the Ancient Greek words μόνος (mónos) meaning “alone", or "single”[8]: 533  and ἄνθος (ánthos) meaning “flower",[8]: 533  referring to the arrangement of the flowers individually rather than in pairs.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca monantha occurs in Queensland, mainly between the Palmer River and Mount Sturgeon (near Hughenden) districts.[2][3][9]

References
  1. "Melaleuca monantha". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  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. 245. ISBN 9781922137517.
  3. Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. p. 192. ISBN 1876334983.
  4. "Melaleuca minutifolia subsp. monantha". APNI. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  5. Barlow, Bryan A. (1986). "Contributions to a revisin of Melaleuca (Myrtaceae): 1-3". Brunonia. 9 (2): 176. doi:10.1071/BRU9860163. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  6. "Melaleuca monantha". APNI. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  7. Craven, L. A.; Lepschi, B. J. (1999). "Enumeration of the species and infraspecific taxa of Melaleuca (Myrtaceae) occurring in Australia and Tasmania". Australian Systematic Botany. 12 (6): 891. doi:10.1071/SB98019.
  8. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  9. Craven, Lyndley A.; Ford, A.J. (2004). "A new species of Melaleuca (Myrtaceae) from northern Queensland, Australia" (PDF). Muelleria. 20: 4–8. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
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