''Melaleuca groveana'', commonly known as Grove's paperbark 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 ...

. It is an uncommon species with relatively large heads of white flowers in spring, the styles of which are significantly longer than the

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 ...

Description

''Melaleuca groveana'' is a large shrub or tree with fibrous or papery bark which grows to a height of . Its leaves are arranged alternately on the stems, narrow elliptical in shape, long, wide tapering to a point, with a stalk long. The leaves have a distinct midvein and several lateral veins. The white flowers are grouped in spikes up to long at the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering, and sometimes in the upper leaf axils. Each spike contains 3 to 16 flowers loosely arranged and up to in diameter. The petals are and fall off as the flower matures. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower and there are 11 to 26 stamens in each bundle. Flowering occurs in early spring but the flowers are relatively short-lived. The fruit are woody, cup or barrel-shaped capsules long, in diameter and spaced along the branches. Melaleuca groveana habit

Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca groveana'' was first formally described in 1925 by Edwin Cheel and Cyril Tenison White 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 ...

''. 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 ...

(''groveana'') honours C.H. Grove, a Queensland clergyman and the collector of the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

specimen.

Distribution and habitat

''Melaleuca groveana'' has a fragmented distribution from the Port Stephens district in New South Wales to the Bluff district in Queensland. It grows in heath and woodland with a heathy understorey, usually in higher areas, often in exposed sites on rocky ridges and outcrops and sometimes on low hills near the coast.

Ecology

Some coastal populations of Grove's paperbark are under threat from competition with the introduced weed bitou bush (''

Chrysanthemoides monilifera ''Osteospermum moniliferum'' ''(Chrysanthemoides monilifera)'' is an evergreen flowering shrub or small tree of the Asteraceae (daisy) family that is native to South Africa, such as the Cape Flats Dune Strandveld habitat. Most subspecies have woo ...

'').

Conservation status

This species is classified as "vulnerable" in New South Wales and "near threatened" in Queensland. It is listed as "rare" in the 1997 IUCN red book of threatened plants.

Uses

Horticulture

''Melaleuca groveana'' is a hardy species, easily propagated from seed and suitable as a screening plant. Unlike most melaleucas, after initial establishment it is relatively drought resistant plant.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15370807 groveana Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1925 Taxa named by Edwin Cheel Taxa named by Cyril Tenison White