''Melaleuca formosa'', commonly known as Kingaroy bottlebrush or cliff 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 a small area in Queensland and peripherally in New South Wales, Australia (Some Australian state herbaria continue to use the name ''Callistemon formosus''). It is a shrub with weeping branches and spikes of lemon-coloured flowers in spring.

Description

''Melaleuca formosa'' is a spreading shrub growing to tall. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are long, wide, flat, narrow egg-shaped or narrow elliptical with a mid-vein and have distinct oil glands and 11 to 24 branching veins. The flowers are whitish through cream to lime-green and arranged in spikes on the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering as well as on the sides of the branches. The spikes are up to in diameter with 20 to 40 individual flowers. The petals are long and fall off as the flower ages. There are 57 to 63

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, tipped with yellow. Flowering occurs throughout the year but mainly in spring and is followed by fruit that are woody capsules, long.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1958 as ''Callistemon formosus'' by

S.T.Blake Stanley Thatcher Blake (1910 – 24 February 1973) was an Australian botanist who served as president of the Royal Society of Queensland and who was associated with the Queensland Herbarium beginning in 1945 until his death. Background Prior to ...

in ''

Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland ''Proceedings of The Royal Society of Queensland'' is a multidisciplinary scientific journal published by The Royal Society of Queensland The Royal Society of Queensland was formed in Queensland, Australia in 1884 from the Queensland Philo ...

'' based on a specimen found "near Kingaroy (near Edenvale Rwy. Stn.), low plateau, remnant of mixed low forest on red loam." 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 ...

(''formosa'') is a Latin word meaning “beautiful” or "handsome", referring to the appearance of the plant. In 2006 Lyndley Craven sank ''Callistemon'' into ''Melaleuca'' giving the new combination ''Melaleuca formosa'' for this species. However, this change is controversial and is not accepted by the Australian Plant Census or the

National Herbarium of New South Wales The National Herbarium of New South Wales was established in 1853. The Herbarium has a collection of more than 1.4 million plant specimens, making it the second largest collection of pressed, dried plant specimens in Australia,Thiers, B. ...

. ''Callistemon formosus'' is regarded as a synonym of ''Melaleuca formosa'' by the Queensland Herbarium and by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Distribution and habitat

This melaleuca occurs in near coastal districts in south eastern Queensland where it grows in vine forest or as an understorey plant beneath eucalypts in

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...

or sandy soil over trachyte.

Conservation status

''Melaleuca formosa'' is classified as "near threatened" under the Government of Queensland Nature Conservation Act (1992).

Use in horticulture

''Melaleuca formosa'' is grown as a street tree in Kingaroy. It is recommended as a shrub to be grown under powerlines and has been found to be relatively tolerant to the fungal disease, myrtle rust (''

Uredo rangelii ''Austropuccinia psidii'', commonly known as myrtle rust, guava rust, or ʻōhiʻa rust; is a rust (a type of plant pathogen) native to South America that affects plants in the family Myrtaceae. It is a member of the fungal complex called the ...

'').

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20721640

formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...

Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1958