''Melaleuca dempta'' is a plant in the myrtle

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

, Myrtaceae 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 else ...

to the

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Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It is an erect shrub resembling '' Melaleuca calycina'' with its heads of white flowers and egg-shaped to heart-shaped leaves. It was formerly considered a subspecies of ''Melaleuca calycina'' subsp. ''dempta'' but it lacks the star-like fruits of that species and its leaves have a blunt rather than a pointed tip.

Description

''Melaleuca dempta'' is a shrub often growing to about high with the branches

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

except when very young. Its leaves are arranged in alternating pairs at right angles to the leaves above and below so that the leaves are in four rows along the stems. The leaves are long, wide, broadly elliptic, egg-shaped or heart-shaped with the end tapering to a rounded point. The flowers are white and arranged in heads on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering. The heads are up to in diameter with up to 4 individual flowers. The petals are long and fall off as the flower ages. There are five bundles of stamens around the flower, each with 22 to 29 stamens. Flowering occurs mainly in September but may continue to February and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules long with five blunt teeth persisting around the edge. (These teeth are long in ''Melaleuca calycina'' giving its fruit a star shape when viewed end-on.) Melaleuca dempta (habit)

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1988 as ''Melaleuca calycina'' subsp. ''dempta'' Barlow by B.A.Barow and K.J. Cowley. It was raised to species status in 1999 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 Gr ...

. The specific epithet (''dempta'') is from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''demptus'', meaning "to take away or remove", referring to the lack of long, curved teeth around the fruit.

Distribution and habitat

''Melaleuca dempta'' occurs in and between the Scaddan,

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

and Dalyup River districts in the

Esperance Plains Esperance Plains, also known as Eyre Botanical District, is a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia on the south coast between the Avon Wheatbelt and Hampton bioregions, and bordered to the north by the Mallee region. It is a p ...

and Mallee biogeographic regions. It grows in dense scrub in sandy soil in swampy areas and on the edges of clay pans.

Conservation status

''Melaleuca dempta'' is listed as " Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife meaning that it is known from only a few locations but is not currently in imminent danger.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6811010 dempta Plants described in 1988 Endemic flora of Western Australia