''Melaleuca densispicata'' 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 native to Queensland and New South Wales 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 ...

. It is a dense, woody shrub or tree with papery or scaly bark, sharp pointed leaves and dense flower spikes. It is uncommon throughout its range and was not formally described until 1984.

Description

''Melaleuca densispicata'' grows to a height of , sometimes to . Its leaves are in alternating 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 ...

), each leaf measuring long, wide, linear to narrow elliptic in shape, glabrous and lacking a stalk. The flowers are white and arranged on a dense spike up to long, usually at the end of branches which continue to grow after the flowering period. Each spike contains between 5 and 24 flowers, each flower with five bundles of stamens, each bundle with 8 to 15 stamens. Flowering mainly occurs from September to December but also from February to May. The fruit are woody capsules about long, densely packed together.

Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca densispicata'' was first formally described by Byrnes in 1984 in '' Austrobaileya''. 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 ...

(''densispicata'') is from the Latin ''densus'' (dense) and ''spica'' (spike) referring to the flowers being close together in the inflorescence".

Distribution and habitat

''Melaleuca densispicata'' occurs in disjunct populations on the western Darling Downs in Queensland and on the North West Slopes, North West Plains and Far North West Plains in New South Wales. It grows on plains in low-lying areas and along stream channels in heavy clay soils.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15371155 densispicata Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1984 Taxa named by Norman Brice Byrnes