''Melaleuca teretifolia'' 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 ...

, which is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with long, thin leaves and clusters of usually white flowers along considerable lengths of the branches in late spring and summer.

Description

''Melaleuca teretifolia'' is a shrub which grows to a height of with light coloured papery bark and glabrous foliage. Its leaves are arranged alternately, long and wide. They are linear, almost circular in cross section, needle-like and with a sharp point on the end. The flowers are usually white but sometimes creamy white or a shade of pink. They are arranged in heads of 4 to 15 flowers up to in diameter arranged along the sides of the branches. 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 ...

s are arranged in five bundles around the flowers and each bundle usually contains 6 to 8 stamens but sometimes up to 12. Flowering occurs between October and January and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca teretifolia'' was first formally described in 1837 by

Stephan Endlicher Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher also known as Endlicher István László (24 June 1804, Bratislava (Pozsony) – 28 March 1849, Vienna) was an Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botanical Garden of Vienna. Bio ...

in '' Enumaratio plantarum''. 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 ...

(''teretifolia'') is from derived from the Latin words ''teres'' meaning "rounded" and ''folium'' meaning "a leaf" referring to the shape of the leaves as being almost circular in cross-section. Its Noongar name is Banbar.Hansen, V. & Horsfall, J. (2016) "Noongar Bush Medicine Medicinal Plants of the south-west of Western Australia", p.200. UWA publishing, Crawley, WA

Distribution and habitat

''Melaleuca teretifolia'' occurs in and between the

Watheroo Watheroo is a small town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. There are 137 residents, according to the . History Land in the area was settled by James Oliver in 1851, the area was surveyed in 1871 and the name Watheroo was charted f ...

and

Capel Capel may refer to: People *Capell, surname, includes a list of people with the surnames Capel and Capell *Capel (given name), includes a list of people with the given name Capel Places England *Capel, Kent, a village and civil parish near T ...

districts in the Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest and

Swan Coastal Plain The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...

biogeographic regions A biogeographic realm or ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivided into ecoregions. De ...

. It grows in sand and clay in swamps and in low areas that fill with water in wet weather.

Conservation

This species is classified as "not threatened" 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 en ...

Use in horticulture

A cultivar of this species known as "''Georgina Molloy''" is available in specialist nurseries. It has red flowers. Melaleucas can be grown from seed but ''Georgina Molloy'' must be grown from cuttings to keep its particular features. It is suited to temperate climates and requires well-drained soil. (

Georgina Molloy Georgiana Molloy (23 May 1805 – 8 April 1843) was an early settler in Western Australia, who is remembered as one of the first botanical collectors in the colony. Her husband, John, was involved in the Wonnerup massacre, and she has been the ...

was an early settler and botanical collector.)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15371439 teretifolia Plants described in 1837 Endemic flora of Western Australia