Melaleuca clavifolia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Melaleuca clavifolia |
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| Melaleuca clavifolia in the Wannamal Nature Reserve | |
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Melaleuca
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| Species: |
clavifolia
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Melaleuca clavifolia is a cool plant from the myrtle family, called Myrtaceae. It only grows in the southwest part of Western Australia. This small bush looks a bit like another plant called Melaleuca tinkeri. It has pretty pinkish flowers that look like "pom-poms" and its new leaves feel soft and silky. But Melaleuca clavifolia has bigger flower heads and its leaves are shorter and shaped more like a club.
Contents
What Does Melaleuca clavifolia Look Like?
Melaleuca clavifolia is a small, spreading bush. It can grow up to about 1 meter (or 3 feet) tall. Its new parts are covered in soft, silky hairs. Some of these hairs stay on the older leaves and branches.
Leaves and Stems
The leaves grow in a special way, one after another along the stem. They are about 3.8 to 10 millimeters (0.15 to 0.39 inches) long. They are also very thin, about 0.5 to 0.9 millimeters (0.02 to 0.04 inches) wide. The leaves are shaped like a narrow egg, with the wider part at the end. The base of the leaf gets thinner, like the stem it sits on.
Flowers and How They Grow
The flowers of Melaleuca clavifolia are pink to purple. They grow in round clusters or short spikes at the ends of branches. These branches keep growing even after the flowers bloom. Sometimes, flowers also appear where the upper leaves meet the stem.
The flower clusters can be up to 23 millimeters (0.9 inches) across. Each cluster has 4 to 9 groups of flowers, with three flowers in each group. The petals are small, about 1.3 to 2.2 millimeters (0.05 to 0.09 inches) long. They fall off as the flower gets older. Inside the flower, there are five groups of stamens (the parts that make pollen). Each group has 5 to 7 stamens.
Flowering Time and Fruit
This plant mostly flowers in spring. After the flowers, it grows woody fruits called capsules. These capsules are 2 to 3 millimeters (0.08 to 0.12 inches) long. They form roundish clusters around the stem.
How Melaleuca clavifolia Got Its Name
The plant Melaleuca clavifolia was first officially described in 1999. This was done by two scientists, Lyndley Craven and Brendan Lepschi. They wrote about it in a science journal called Australian Systematic Botany.
Meaning of the Name
The second part of its name, clavifolia, comes from two Latin words. Clava means "club," and folium means "leaf." This name was chosen because most of the plant's leaves are shaped like a club.
Where Does Melaleuca clavifolia Live?
This type of melaleuca plant is found in Western Australia. It grows in areas between Coorow, Green Head, and the Moore River districts. These areas are part of the Geraldton Sandplains and Swan Coastal Plain regions.
Habitat and Soil
You can find Melaleuca clavifolia growing in sand and gravel. It likes lateritic soils, which are a type of red soil, found on flat areas and hillsides.
Is Melaleuca clavifolia Safe?
The Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife says that Melaleuca clavifolia is "not threatened." This means there are enough of these plants, and they are not in danger of disappearing.
