Melaleuca ringens facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Melaleuca ringens
M. ringens growing at Point d'Entrecasteaux
Conservation status
Priority Three — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Melaleuca
Species:	ringens

The Melaleuca ringens is a special plant from the Myrtaceae family, which also includes myrtle trees. This plant is found only in the south-west part of Western Australia. It looks a bit like another plant called Melaleuca diosmifolia. However, Melaleuca ringens has creamy yellow flowers, not yellow-green ones. It also grows lower to the ground and spreads out more.

What Melaleuca ringens Looks Like

Melaleuca ringens is a bushy shrub that spreads out. It usually grows up to about 3 m (10 ft) tall, but often it's much shorter. It can spread up to 2 m (7 ft) wide. Its leaves grow one after another along the stem. They are about 4.5 to 8 mm (0.2 to 0.3 in) long and 1.8 to 3.5 mm (0.07 to 0.1 in) wide. The leaves are smooth, except when they are very young. They are shaped like an oval or a spear, and they get narrower towards the tip. Each leaf has a short stalk about 1 mm (0.04 in) long.

Flowers and Fruit

The flowers of Melaleuca ringens are creamy-yellow. They grow in spikes at the ends of branches. These branches keep growing even after the flowers bloom. Sometimes, flowers also appear between the leaves. The flower spikes are 20 to 60 mm (0.8 to 2.4 in) long and about 20 mm (0.8 in) across. Each spike can have 10 to 60 individual flowers. This plant produces many flowers. However, like some other melaleuca plants, its flowers have a very sweet, almost sickly smell.

Inside each flower, there are five groups of stamens (the parts that make pollen). Each group has 7 to 11 stamens. Melaleuca ringens mainly flowers in spring. After flowering, it produces bell-shaped, woody fruits called capsules. These capsules are about 5 mm (0.2 in) long and wide. They grow in clusters, and the sepals (leaf-like parts under the flower) stay on the fruit as small teeth around the edge.

How Melaleuca ringens Got Its Name

The plant Melaleuca ringens was first officially described in 1992. This was done by a group of scientists: Frances Quinn, Kirsten Cowley, Lyndley Craven, and Bryan Barlow. They wrote about it in a scientific paper called Nuytsia. The second part of its name, ringens, comes from a Latin word that means "gaping" or "wide open." This name refers to how wide the opening of its fruit is.

Where Melaleuca ringens Grows

This special melaleuca plant is only found in the D'Entrecasteaux National Park. This park is located in a natural area called the Warren biogeographic region. It grows in thick, bushy areas called heathlands. These heathlands have sand over limestone rock.

Keeping Melaleuca ringens Safe

The government of Western Australia, through its Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife, has given Melaleuca ringens a special classification: "Priority Three". This means that the plant is only found in a few places. While it's not in immediate danger of disappearing, it's important to keep an eye on it and protect its habitats.

Growing Melaleuca ringens in Gardens

Sometimes, Melaleuca ringens is sold in plant nurseries. It's often marketed as a smaller version of Melaleuca diosmifolia, which is a similar but larger plant.

Images for kids

M. ringens leaves, flowers and fruit

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  Habit at Point d'Entrecasteaux