''Melaleuca hypericifolia'', commonly known as hillock bush, 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 ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Melaleuca ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They range in size ...

'' 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It has large, orange to red flower spikes and consequently is a commonly cultivated species. In 1797,

James Edward Smith James Edward Smith may refer to: * James Edward Smith (botanist), English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society * James Edward Smith (murderer), American murderer * James Edward Smith (politician), Canadian businessman and mayor of Toronto * ...

described the plant as: ''"The most beautiful of the genus. It grows in swampy ground ...is plentiful in the English gardens, and was generally taken for an

Hypericum ''Hypericum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hypericaceae (formerly considered a subfamily of Clusiaceae). The genus has a nearly worldwide distribution, missing only from tropical lowlands, deserts and polar regions. Many ''Hype ...

, till it lately produced, in several collections near

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, its elegant flowers."''

Description

''Melaleuca hypericifolia'' is a large woody shrub or small tree growing to in height, with greyish papery bark. Its leaves are arranged in alternate pairs (

decussate Decussation is used in biological contexts to describe a crossing (due to the shape of the Roman numeral for ten, an uppercase 'X' (), ). In Latin anatomical terms, the form is used, e.g. . Similarly, the anatomical term chiasma is named aft ...

), long, wide, narrow elliptic in shape with a central groove on the upper surface. The flowers are red to orange, arranged in a spike, usually on the older wood. The spike is up to in both diameter and length and contains up to 40 individual flowers. The petals are long and fall off as the flower ages. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower with 16 to 25 stamens per bundle. The flower spikes appear in spring and summer and are followed by fruit which are woody, oval-shaped capsules long with the

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s remaining as teeth around the rim. As the plant ages, the capsules become compressed together. Melaleuca hypericifolia fruit

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described by English botanist James Edward Smith in 1797 in ''

Transactions of the Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

'' from material collected in "swampy ground" in

. The species name references the similarity of the leaves to those of species of ''

''.

Distribution and habitat

''Melaleuca hypericifolia'' occurs in damp areas of sandy heath and woodland in mostly coastal areas from Bermagui to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and inland as far as the Blue Mountains. The species is naturalised in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Use in horticulture

Hillock bush is a hardy, adaptable and attractive shrub that has been known in gardens for many years. It is moderately frost hardy, although the flowers tend to be hidden inside the shrub. It is a dense screen plant, unless pruned to display the flowers. It has caused problems in some areas where it has spread from gardens into bushland in other states and care should be taken with the species in southern Victoria. Two

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s have been developed: *''M. hypericifolia'' 'Snapper Point' *''M. hypericifolia'' 'Ulladulla Beacon'

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6811037 Flora of New South Wales hypericifolia Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1797