''Melaleuca manglesii'' 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 the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

of Western Australia. It is a low, spreading shrub which produces large numbers of heads of purple flowers with yellow tips in spring.

Description

''Melaleuca manglesii'' is a shrub growing to about high and wide. The leaves are arranged alternately, long, wide, narrow elliptic in shape and with a rounded ends. The flowers are arranged in heads at or near the ends of the branches which continue to grow after flowering. The heads are up to in diameter and contain between 2 and 8 groups of flowers in threes. The petals are long and fall off soon after the flower opens. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flowers and are deep pink or mauve in colour tipped with a yellow stigma. There are 5 to 7 stamens in each bundle. Flowering occurs in spring and is followed by fruit which are woody, cup-shaped capsules long, arranged in small groups along the stem.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first described in 1844 by Johannes Conrad Schauer in ''Plantae Preissianae''. 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 ...

(''mangles'') is in honour of James Mangles, a collector of Western Australian plants.

Distribution and habitat

''Melaleuca manglesii'' occurs between Wyalkatchem, Meckering and Kellerberrin in the Avon Wheatbelt

biogeographic region An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

. It grows in scrub on sand.

Conservation

This species is classified as " Priority One" by the

Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government o ...

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk.

Uses

Horticulture

This melaleuca has been cultivated in Western Australia in well-drained soils; however, it is probably not suited to the more humid eastern states of Australia.

Essential oils

The oil from the leaves of this species consists mainly of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes at the rate of 0.5% (weight/fresh weight).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15370710 manglesii Myrtales of Australia Rosids of Western Australia Plants described in 1844 Endemic flora of Western Australia Taxa named by Johannes Conrad Schauer