Melaleuca densa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Melaleuca densa
Melaleuca densa foliage and flowers
Scientific classification
Genus:	Melaleuca
Species:	densa

The Melaleuca densa is a type of shrub that belongs to the Myrtaceae family, which is also known as the myrtle family. This plant is special because it only grows in the south-west part of Western Australia. It's a bushy plant that produces many cream, yellow, or greenish flowers. Its youngest branches have leaves that overlap each other.

About the Melaleuca densa Plant

Melaleuca densa can grow to be about 2 to 3 meters (6.5 to 10 feet) tall. It has bark that feels like fiber and is usually grey or almost white. Its leaves are small, about 2 to 9 millimeters (0.08 to 0.35 inches) long and 1 to 6.7 millimeters (0.04 to 0.26 inches) wide. They are shaped like an oval or almost a circle, and they come to a soft point. The leaves are usually arranged in a pattern where they alternate, or sometimes they grow in groups of three around the stem.

Flowers and Fruit

The flowers of Melaleuca densa are yellow or cream-colored. They grow in groups called "heads" or "spikes" at the ends of the branches. Even after the plant flowers, these branches keep growing. Each flower group has between 15 and 37 individual flowers. These groups can be up to 25 millimeters (1 inch) long and 20 millimeters (0.8 inches) across.

At the bottom of each flower, there are brown, thin, overlapping parts called bracts. These bracts fall off as the flowers open up. Inside the flower, there are 5 groups of stamens, which are the parts that produce pollen. Each group has 3 to 6 stamens. Melaleuca densa usually flowers from August to September, but sometimes it keeps flowering until December. After flowering, the plant produces woody capsules, which are like small seed pods. These capsules are about 1.8 to 2.6 millimeters (0.07 to 0.1 inches) long.

Plant Name and History

This plant was first officially described in 1812 by a botanist named Robert Brown. He wrote about it in a book called Hortus Kewensis. The name densa comes from the Latin word densus, which means "dense" or "thick." We don't know for sure why Brown chose this name, but it might be because the plant has many leaves or many flowers packed closely together.

Where Melaleuca densa Grows

Melaleuca densa is found in several areas of Western Australia, including the Stirling Range and Augusta. It grows in places like the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee, Swan Coastal Plain, and Warren biogeographic regions. You can find it growing in sandy or clay soils, especially in areas that get wet during certain seasons, like swamps or along riverbanks.

Conservation Status

The Government of Western Australia's Department of Parks and Wildlife has listed Melaleuca densa as "not threatened." This means that the plant is not currently in danger of disappearing.

Images for kids

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  Dense regeneration of M. densa after fire

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  Large shrub form of M. densa

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  Melaleuca densa fruit

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  Melaleuca densa on Bluff Knoll