Melaleuca lazaridis facts for kids

Melaleuca lazaridis is a special plant that belongs to the myrtle family, called Myrtaceae. It is only found in one place in the world: the Blackdown Tableland National Park in Queensland, Australia. Some plant experts also know this plant by another name, Callistemon lazaridis. This plant grows as a shrub. It has dark green leaves and beautiful red flowers that grow in spikes, often with yellow tips.

What Melaleuca lazaridis Looks Like

Melaleuca lazaridis is a shrub that can grow up to 4 m (10 ft) tall. It has tough, fibrous bark, which means its bark is stringy and strong.

Its leaves are arranged one after another along the stem. They are usually 43–119 mm (2–5 in) long and 4.5–17 mm (0.2–0.7 in) wide. The leaves are flat and often shaped like a narrow egg. Each leaf has a main vein down the middle and many smaller veins branching out from it.

Flowers and Fruit

The flowers of Melaleuca lazaridis grow in spikes. These spikes appear at the ends of branches. The branches keep growing even after the flowers bloom. You can also find flower spikes growing along the sides of the branches.

Each flower spike is about 35–60 mm (1–2 in) across. It holds between 25 and 60 individual flowers. The petals of each flower are 4.5–6.5 mm (0.18–0.26 in) long. They fall off as the flower gets older.

Every flower has 48 to 59 stamens. Stamens are the parts of a flower that produce pollen. The thin parts of the stamens, called filaments, are red to deep pink. The tips of the stamens, called anthers, are yellow.

This plant usually flowers from June to September. After the flowers bloom, they turn into woody capsules. These capsules are like small, hard seed pods. They are about 4.5–5.7 mm (0.18–0.22 in) long.

How Melaleuca lazaridis Got its Name

The plant Melaleuca lazaridis was officially described in 2006. This means it was given its scientific name and details were written down. The person who first described it was Lyndley Craven. He wrote about it in a science journal called Novon.

The second part of its scientific name, lazaridis, is a special way to honor someone. It is named after Michael Lazarides. He was an Australian plant collector and expert in grasses. He also helped collect the very first plant sample that was used to describe this species. This first sample is called the type specimen.

Sometimes, you might see this plant called Callistemon lazaridis. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a famous plant garden in England, considers Callistemon lazaridis to be another name for Melaleuca lazaridis.

Where Melaleuca lazaridis Grows

This specific type of melaleuca plant is only found in the Blackdown Tableland National Park. This park is located in Queensland, Australia.

Within the park, it grows in many different kinds of places. You can often find it growing near sandstone rocks. It also likes to grow in open forests and along the edges of creeks.