''Melaleuca pyramidalis'' is a plant in the myrtle family,

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 to small areas of Queensland in

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 pyramidalis''.) It is closely related to ''Melaleuca citrina'' (''Callistemon citrinus'') but is distinguished from it mainly by leaf and

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

differences. ''Melaleuca pyramidalis'' is only known from the summits of three mountains in Queensland.

Description

''Melaleuca pyramidalis'' is a shrub growing to tall with compact, dark grey, papery bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are long, wide, flat, elliptical in shape with a short stalk. The veins are pinnate and there are only a few scattered, indistinct oil glands. The flowers are red to pink, arranged in spikes up to in diameter with 20 to 50 individual flowers. The petals are long and fall off as the flower ages and there are 35 to 42 stamens in each flower. Flowering occurs in late winter and is followed by fruit that are woody capsules, long in loose clusters along the stem. ''M. pyramidalis'' can be distinguished from the similar ''M. citrina'' by its obscure oil glands (prominent in ''M. citrina'') and yellow

tips (dark red in ''M.citrina''). Melaleuca pyramidalis (flowers) 01

Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca pyramidalis'' was first formally described in 2009 by Lyndley Craven in ''

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 ...

'' from a specimen collected at the summit of

Walshs Pyramid Walshs Pyramid is an independent peak with a distinct pyramidal appearance, high, located within Wooroonooran National Park about south of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns, Queensland, Australia. An annual footrace to its summit is held on the thir ...

near

Gordonvale Gordonvale is a rural sugar-growing town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality situated on the southern side of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gordonvale had a populati ...

. In 2012, Udovicic and Spencer gave the species the name ''

Callistemon pyramidalis ''Melaleuca pyramidalis'' is a plant in the myrtle Family (biology), family, Myrtaceae and is Endemism, endemic to small areas of Queensland in Australia. (Some Australian state herbaria use the name ''Callistemon pyramidalis''.) It is closely r ...

'' but in 2013, Craven transferred all species previously known as ''Callistemon'' to ''Melaleuca''. Some authorities continue to use ''Callistemon pyramidalis''. 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 ...

(''pyramidalis'') refers to Walshs Pyramid where the type specimen was collected. ''Callistemon pyramidalis'' is regarded as a synonym of ''Melaleuca pyramidalis'' by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Distribution and habitat

''Melaleuca pyramidalis'' occurs on the summits of Walshs Pyramid,

Mount Diamantina Mount Diamantina is a mountain on Hinchinbrook Island, off the north east coast of Queensland, Australia. It rises out of the Coral Sea. See also * List of mountains of Australia References

{{reflist Mountains of Queensland, Diamantina ...

(on Hinchinbrook Island) and

Mount Leach Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

(near Ingham). It grows mostly in open forest on rocky hilltops.

Conservation

The classification "Vulnerable" under the IUCN Red List applies to ''Melaleuca pyramidalis'' because it is only known from a few sites.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17595973 pyramidalis Flora of Queensland Plants described in 2009 Taxa named by Lyndley Craven