''Melastoma malabathricum'', known also as Malabar melastome, Indian rhododendron, Singapore rhododendron, planter's rhododendron and senduduk, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Melastomataceae Melastomataceae is a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants found mostly in the tropics (two-thirds of the genera are from the New World tropics) comprising c. 175 genera and c. 5115 known species. Melastomes are annual or perennial herbs, sh ...

. This plant is native to Indomalaya, Japan and Australia, and is usually found at elevations between 100 m and 2,800 m in grassland and sparse forest habitats. It has been used as a

medicinal plant Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against her ...

in certain parts of the world, but has been declared a

noxious weed A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or liv ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. ''M. malabathricum'' is a known

hyperaccumulator A hyperaccumulator is a plant capable of growing in soil or water with very high concentrations of metals, absorbing these metals through their roots, and concentrating extremely high levels of metals in their tissues. The metals are concentrated a ...

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

, and as such can be used for

phytoremediation Phytoremediation technologies use living plants to clean up soil, air and water contaminated with hazardous contaminants. It is defined as "the use of green plants and the associated microorganisms, along with proper soil amendments and agronomi ...

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of the genus ''Melastoma'' requires a complete revision. Early genetics studies were published from 2001, – see also the erratum. through 2013, but a revision based on them has yet to be. In 2001 Karsten Meyer proposed a revision in which the species ''

Melastoma affine ''Melastoma affine'', also known by the common names blue tongue or native lassiandra, is a shrub of the family Melastomataceae. Distributed in tropical and sub-tropical forests of India, South-east Asia and Australia, it is a plant of rainforest ...

'' and other species were subsumed within this species ''M. malabathricum''. In Australia, currently most authorities do not accept this; instead the naturally occurring populations in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

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_ ...

and north eastern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

remain recognised as '' M. affine'', except by authorities in Queensland. Australian populations which occur as weeds, having different flowers, for example in Warraroon Reserve,

Lane Cove Lane Cove is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lane Cove is nine kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governmen ...

, Sydney, further south than the natural distribution of ''M. affine'', are introduced plants of this ''M. malabathricum'' species.

Description

''M. malabathricum'' grows wild on a wide range of soils, from sea-level up to an altitude of 3000 meters. It is an erect, free-flowering shrub that grows to a height of about 3 meters. The plant is branched, and has reddish stems that are covered with bristly scales and minute hairs. Its leaves are simple, elliptic lanceolate with a rounded base, are up to 7 cm long, and have three distinct main veins running from base to apex. Its flowers are borne on short terminal cymes 2 to 8 cm across. The flowers are pink, violet or mauve. Its fruit is a berry, which when ripe breaks irregularly to expose its soft, dark blue pulp and orange seeds.

References

External links

Sandakan Rainforest Park - Medicinal Plants
{{Taxonbar, from=Q722767 malabathricum Medicinal plants Flora of tropical Asia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus