Melaleuca monantha facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Melaleuca monantha |
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| M. monantha 5km south of the Palmer River. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Melaleuca
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| Species: |
monantha
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| Synonyms | |
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Melaleuca minutifolia subsp. monantha Barlow |
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Melaleuca monantha is a special plant that belongs to the myrtle family, called Myrtaceae. You can only find it in certain parts of Queensland, Australia. This means it is endemic to that area.
It's a shrub that looks a bit like another plant called Melaleuca minutifolia. Both have very small leaves. However, Melaleuca monantha leaves don't have oil glands. Also, its flowers grow one by one, not in pairs. It also looks a bit like Melaleuca sylvana, but Melaleuca monantha usually has many stems and a thicker top part.
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What Melaleuca monantha Looks Like
Melaleuca monantha is a shrub that can grow up to 7 m (20 ft) tall. Its leaves are arranged in a cool way: they grow in alternating pairs, which means they are in four neat rows along the stems. Each leaf is shaped like an oval or an egg. They are about 0.9–3 mm (0.04–0.1 in) long and 0.5–1 mm (0.02–0.04 in) wide. The leaves get narrower at the very end, forming a small point.
The flowers are white and grow in small groups. You can find these groups at the ends of branches that keep growing even after the flowers appear. They also grow where the upper leaves meet the stem. These flower heads can be up to 12 mm (0.5 in) across. Each head has up to 8 individual flowers. The petals are small, about 1.2–1.6 mm (0.05–0.06 in) long, and they fall off as the flower gets older. Around each flower, there are five groups of stamens, which are the parts that produce pollen. Each group has between 6 and 14 stamens.
This plant usually flowers from October to February. After the flowers, it grows woody capsules, which are like hard seed pods. These pods are 2–3.2 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long and grow in small, loose bunches.
Naming and History of Melaleuca monantha
This plant was first officially described in 1987 by a scientist named Bryan Barlow. At that time, he called it a subspecies of Melaleuca minutifolia. A subspecies is a group within a species that has slight differences. The very first plant used to describe this species was found near Granite Creek, close to Mareeba in Far North Queensland. Its description was published in a scientific journal called Australian Systematic Botany.
Later, in 1999, another scientist named Lyndley Craven decided that it was different enough to be its own species. He then gave it the name Melaleuca monantha. The second part of its scientific name, monantha, comes from two Ancient Greek words. Mónos means "alone" or "single," and ánthos means "flower." This name refers to how its flowers grow individually, not in pairs.
Where Melaleuca monantha Grows
You can find Melaleuca monantha in Queensland, Australia. It mainly grows in the areas between the Palmer River and Mount Sturgeon, which is near Hughenden.
Images for kids
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Habit 5 km (3.1 mi) south of the Palmer River
