''Melaleuca polandii'', commonly known as gold-tipped bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

a small area in far northern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

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 ...

. (Some Australian state herbaria continue to use the name ''Callistemon polandii''.) It is a dense shrub with bronze-coloured, hairy new growth and spikes of red flowers tipped with yellow.

Description

''Melaleuca polandii'' is a shrub growing to high. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are long, wide, flat, narrow egg-shaped and tapering to a point. The leaves have a distinct mid-vein and 19 to 25 lateral veins. The young leaves and branches are covered with fine, silky hairs. The flowers are bright red and are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering and sometimes in the upper leaf axils. The spikes are in diameter. The petals are long, fall off as the flower ages and there are 35-50 stamens in each flower. Flowering occurs from late winter to summer, sometimes in other months and is followed by fruit that are woody capsules, long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca polandii'' was first named in 2006 by

Lyndley Craven Lyndley Alan Craven (3 September 1945 – 11 July 2014) was a botanist who became the Principal Research Scientist of the Australian National Herbarium. Lyndley ("Lyn") Craven worked for the CSIRO plant taxonomy unit of the New Guinea Survey Gro ...

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 ...

when ''Callistemon polandii'' was transferred to the present

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

. ''Callistemon polandii'' was first formally described in 1902 by Frederick Manson Bailey from a specimen collected in "Bloomfield River yRev. W. Poland". 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 ...

(''polandii'') honours Wilhelm Poland, a missionary at

Wujal Wujal Wujal Wujal is a rural town and locality in the Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the , Wujal Wujal had a population of 282 people. It is an Aboriginal community. The community of Wujal Wujal is located in the Cape York r ...

(formerly the Bloomfield River Mission). ''Callistemon polandii'' is regarded as a synonym of ''Melaleuca polandii'' by the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

Distribution and habitat

This melaleuca occurs in the Cape Flattery and

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs ...

districts of

where it grows in dense wallum heath in sandy or peaty soils.

Use in horticulture

''Melaleuca polandii'' is a hardy shrub, suitable for warm coastal areas. It is useful as a screen or hedge but is known to damage wastewater pipes.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20721743 polandii Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1902