Family: Myrtaceae
Plant: A dense shrub or small tree up to 2m high with brownish corky or papery bark.
Flowers: Cream to pale yellow with numerous stamens and arranged in terminal and axillary globular heads 1-1.5cm diameter. The sweet perfume of the flowers is more noticeable in the early morning.
Flowering: September-November.
Fruit: Tiny capsule, 2-4mm diameter fused into dense globular clusters up to 1cm diameter that surround the stems.
Leaves: Rigid linear 1-2cm long and 1-3mm wide with a stiff sharp tip and oil dots. The leaves are crowded and alternate.
Habitat: Heathland and wet sclerophyll forest – usually on marshy ground.
Features: Globular head of fluffy cream flowers. Rigid leaves. Papery bark on trunk. Clusters of woody fruit capsules on stems.
Name:
Melaleuca From Greek melas = black and leucos = white (referring to its black wood and white branches)
nodosa From Latin = knotted or knobby (referring to its fruit capsules)
|
Type |
Shrub, Tree |
|
|
Flowers |
Form |
Globular, Cluster |
|
|
Colour(s) |
Cream, Yellow |
|
|
Petal/Sepal No. |
- |
|
|
Flowering Month |
9, 10, 11 |
|
Fruit |
Type |
Capsule |
|
|
Colour |
Brown |
|
|
Other Features |
Woody, Hard |
|
Leaves |
Arrangement |
Alternate, Crowded |
|
|
Type |
Simple |
|
|
Shape |
Linear, Needle-like |
|
|
Length |
Short |
|
|
Margins |
Entire |
|
|
Attachment |
Unstalked |
|
|
Other Features |
Sharp-tip |
|
Bark |
Papery/Flaky, Corky/Flaky |
|
|
Habitat |
Wet sclerophyll forest, Heathland |
|