''Melaleuca shiressii'' 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
New South Wales 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 ...
. (Some Australian state
herbaria continue to use the name ''Callistemon shiressii''.)
It is rare shrub or small tree with pale, papery bark, sharp-pointed leaves and spikes of white to pale cream bottlebrush flowers in spring and summer.
Description
''Melaleuca shiressii'' is a shrub or small tree growing to high with white or grey papery bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are long, wide, more or less flat, narrow elliptic or narrow egg-shaped and end in a sharp point. There is a mid-vein, marginal veins and 12–23 distinct lateral veins and there are many distinct oil glands. The edges of the leaves are often curled under and the lower surface is paler than the upper one.
The flowers are cream or greenish-cream and are arranged in spikes at the end of, or around the branches which continue to grow after flowering. The spikes are in diameter and long with 5 to 25 individual flowers. The petals are long and fall off as the flower ages and there are 48-84 stamens in each flower. Flowering occurs from September to January and is followed by fruit which are woody
capsules, long and in diameter.
Taxonomy and naming
''Melaleuca shiressii'' was first named in 2006 by
Lyndley Craven in
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 shiressii'' was transferred to the present
genus.
''Callistemon shiressii'' was first formally described in 1941 by
William Blakely.
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 ...
(''shiressii'') honour
David William Campbell Shiresswho, with Blakely, collected the
type specimen "on shale ridges about 1 mile north-west of Narara railway station".
''Callistemon shiressii'' is regarded as a synonym of ''Melaleuca shiressii'' by the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Distribution and habitat
''Melaleuca shiressii'' occurs in and between the
Singleton and
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
districts in New South Wales. It grows in moist forests and on ridges .
Gallery
Image:Melaleuca shiressii habit.jpg, Habit in the Australian National Botanic Gardens
The Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) is a heritage-listed botanical garden located in , Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Established in 1949, the Gardens is administered by the Australian Government's Departme ...
Image:Melaleuca shiressii bark.JPG, Bark
Image:Melaleuca shiressii fruit.JPG, Maturing capsules
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q20721728
shiressii
Flora of New South Wales
Plants described in 1941
Taxa named by Lyndley Craven