''Melaleuca pachyphylla'', commonly known as wallum bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

, and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to near-coastal regions of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. (Some Australian state herbaria use the name ''Callistemon pachyphyllus'', which is still widely used in the literature). It is a medium-sized shrub with a straggling habit and red, or sometimes greenish, bottlebrush flowers in summer.

Description

''Melaleuca pachyphylla'' is a shrub growing to tall. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are long, wide, flat, narrow elliptic to narrow egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base and a small point at the end. There is a distinct mid-vein and 11–22 side veins. The flowers are usually crimson but sometimes greenish-yellow. They are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering and also on the sides of the branches. The spikes are in diameter with 30 to 90 individual flowers. The petals are long and fall off as the flower ages and there are 27-45 stamens in each flower. Flowering occurs in summer and is followed by fruit that are woody capsules, long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca pachyphylla'' was first formally described in 2006 by

Lyndley Craven Lyndley Alan Craven (3 September 1945 – 11 July 2014) was a botanist who became the Principal Research Scientist of the Australian National Herbarium. Lyndley ("Lyn") Craven worked for the CSIRO plant taxonomy unit of the New Guinea Survey Gro ...

Novon The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropist Henry Shaw. Its herbarium, with more than 6.6 million s ...

. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''pachyphylla'') is from the Greek words ''pakhús'' meaning “thick” and ''phýllon'' meaning “leaf” in reference to the thick leaves of this species. ''Callistemon pachyphyllus'' is regarded as a synonym of ''Melaleuca pachyphylla'' by the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

Distribution and habitat

''Melaleuca pachyphylla'' occurs in coastal areas from Port Stephens in New South Wales to Hervey Bay in Queensland. It grows in moist ground in wallum.

Conservation

''Melaleuca pachyphylla'' is sometimes cultivated as '' Callistemon pachyphyllus''. It is a hardy plant that grows well in poorly drained soil in full sun.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5022783 pachyphylla Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Plants described in 2006 Taxa named by Edwin Cheel