''Melaleuca flammea'', commonly known as tapering-leaved bottlebrush, 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 New South Wales and 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 ...

. (The Australian Plant Census and some Australian state herbaria continue to use the name ''Callistemon acuminatus''.) It is a shrub with broad, lance-shaped leaves which have wavy edges and taper gradually to a fine point. In spring it has typical bottlebrush flowers whose fiery colour gives the species its name.

Description

''Melaleuca flammea'' is a shrub growing to tall with hard, fibrous bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are long, wide, broad to narrow lance-shaped and gradually taper to a fine point. They are also distinguished by their broad v-shape, wavy margin with scattered fine teeth and 12 to 33 distinct lateral veins. The flowers are deep red to crimson and arranged in spikes on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering. The spikes are up to in diameter with 25 to 120 individual flowers. The petals are long and fall off as the flower ages. There are 20 to 32 bright red

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 ...

s in each flower. Flowering occurs mainly in spring but often at other times of the year and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules, long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca flammea'' was first named in 2006 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 ...

''. It had first been formally described as ''Callistemon acuminatus'' by Edwin Cheel in 1911 in '' Illustrations of New South Wales Plants'' from a specimen collected "''on slopes of rocky mountains, Crawford River, 7 miles'' (10km) ''from Bullahdelah.''" 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 ...

(''flammea'') is from the Latin ''flammeus'' meaning “fiery” or "fiery-red", referring to the fiery colour of the stamens. Melaleuca flammea (habit)

The Australian Plant Census accepts the name ''Callistemon acuminatus'' but it is regarded as a synonym of ''Melaleuca flammea'' by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Distribution and habitat

''Melaleuca flammea'' occurs near Nambour in Queensland and in coastal areas of New South Wales from Port Stephens to the Clarence River district. It usually grows in woodland or forest on dry, rocky hilltops

Conservation status

''Melaleuca flammea'', as ''Callistemon acuminatus'', is a classified in New South Wales as a " Rare or Threatened Australian Plant".

Use in horticulture

Although not common in cultivation, this species is hardy, frost and drought tolerant and its distinctive leaves and large, brightly coloured flowers give it horticultural potential.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20721639 flammea Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 2006 Taxa named by Lyndley Craven