''Melaleuca thymifolia'', commonly known as thyme honey-myrtle, 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 native to eastern

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 often noticed in spring, with its attractive, purple flowers and is one of the most commonly cultivated melaleucas. A fragrant shrub, it usually grows to about tall, has corky bark and slender, wiry stems.

Description

''Melaleuca thymifolia'' is a low, spreading shrub which grows to a height of about with grey, corky bark, glabrous foliage and arching branches. Its leaves are arranged in alternating pairs (

decussate Decussation is used in biological contexts to describe a crossing (due to the shape of the Roman numeral for ten, an uppercase 'X' (), ). In Latin anatomical terms, the form is used, e.g. . Similarly, the anatomical term chiasma is named aft ...

) so that they make four rows of leaves along the stem. The leaves are long, wide, flat, elliptic in shape with a tapered end and often have their upper surface almost parallel to the stem. The flowers are a shade between pink and deep purple and are arranged in heads, sometimes at the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering, and sometimes on the sides of the branches. The heads contain 2 to 10 individual flowers and are up to in diameter. 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 flower, each bundle containing 30 to 60 curved stamens. Flowering occurs over a long period, mostly in spring but also at other times of the year. Flowering is followed by fruit which are woody cup-shaped capsules, long and wide. The fruit have five persistent teeth around the rim.

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described in 1797 by the English botanist, James Smith in '' Transactions of the Linnean Society of London'' noting that "''Mr. Fairbairn has presented flowering specimens of this species to the Linnaean Society from Chelsea garden.''" 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 ...

(''thymifolia'') is a reference to the similarity of the leaves of this species to the leaves of '' Thymus'' (thyme) in the family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

.Les Robinson - Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, page 59

Distribution and habitat

''Melaleuca thymifolia'' occurs from

Pigeon House Mountain Pigeon House Mountain (Indigenous languages of Australia, Aboriginal: ''Didthul'') is a mountain at an elevation of on the Budawang Range that is situated within the Morton National Park, located on the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coas ...

in New South Wales, north to south eastern Queensland with a disjunct population in the Carnarvon Range in central Queensland. It grows in seasonal swamps and along creeks in a variety of soils.

Use in horticulture

''Melaleuca thymifolia'' may be the most commonly cultivated of its genus because of its attractive flowers, graceful form and adaptability to a wide range of soils and condition. It is frost and drought hardy and long-lived but does best in well watered situations, sometimes spreading to . A number of cultivars have been developed including ''Melaleuca thymifolia'' ‘Pink Lace' and ''Melaleuca thymifolia'' ‘White Lace’

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6811109 Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland thymifolia Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1797