''Melaleuca foliolosa'' 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 northern 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 ...

. It is distinguished by it very small leaves which are pressed against the stem and almost overlap each other.

Description

''Melaleuca foliolosa'' is a tree growing up to tall with white or greyish papery bark and a bushy crown. Its leaves are arranged 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 ...

) and are long and wide. They are almost triangular in shape and pressed against the stem so that they almost overlap. The flowers are cream to greenish white and arranged in short spikes or almost spherical heads in the upper leaf axils. Each head contains 2 to 8 individual flowers and is up to in diameter. The petals are long and fall off as the flower opens. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower, each bundle containing 20 to 35 stamens. Flowers appear from April to October and are followed by fruit which are woody capsules long. Melaleuca foliolosa 03

Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca foliolosa'' was first formally described in 1866 by George Bentham in '' Flora Australiensis'' from a specimen collected by Allan Cunningham at Cape Flinders. 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 ...

(''foliolosa'') is from the Latin word ''folium'' meaning "leaf", hence foliolose, referring to the numerous, small leaves of this species.

Distribution and habitat

This melaleuca is found throughout the Cape York Peninsula growing in woodland and savannah in sand, clay and near coastal salt pans. It forms a low shrubland on the margins of saline flats near the Annan River.

Ecology

''Melaleuca foliolosa'' is host to the mistletoe species ''

Amyema herbertiana ''Amyema'' is a genus of semi- parasitic shrubs (mistletoes) which occur in Malesia and Australia. Etymology ''Amyema'' derives from the Greek: ''a'' (negative), and ''myeo'' (I initiate), referring to the genus being previously unrecognised. ...

'' and ''

Notothixos incanus ''Notothixos''Oliver D (1863) ''J. Proc. Linn. Soc., Bot.'' 7: 103 864 publ. 1863/ref> is a genus of mistletoe plant in the family Santalaceae. Species The Catalogue of Life lists: * ''Notothixos cornifolius'' * ''Notothixos floccosus'' * '' N ...

''. It is also an important component of the environment of the endangered Golden-shouldered parrot (''Psephotus chrysopterygius'').

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15370049 foliolosa Myrtales of Australia Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1866