Melaleuca serpentina facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Melaleuca serpentina |
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| M. serpentina leaves and flowers | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Melaleuca
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| Species: |
serpentina
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| Synonyms | |
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Callistemon serpentinus (Craven) Udovicic & R.D.Spencer |
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The Melaleuca serpentina is a special plant found only in the Barraba area of Australia. It belongs to the myrtle family, called Myrtaceae. Some people still call it Callistemon serpentinus.
This plant is a type of shrub. It has pretty yellow or creamy-green flowers that look like a bottlebrush. It's a bit like another plant, Melaleuca citrina, but you can tell them apart. Melaleuca citrina has red flowers, and its stamens (the parts that hold pollen) are longer.
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What Does Melaleuca serpentina Look Like?
Melaleuca serpentina is a shrub that can grow up to about 4 meters (13 feet) tall. It has bark that feels hard and papery.
Leaves and Flowers
Its leaves are arranged one after another along the stem. They are about 2 to 5 centimeters (1 to 2 inches) long and narrow. They are mostly flat and shaped like an egg, but pointy at the end. You can see a main vein in the middle of the leaves. They also have many tiny oil glands.
The flowers are creamy green to yellow. They grow in spikes at the ends of branches, or where leaves join the stem. These spikes are about 3 to 4 centimeters (1 to 2 inches) wide. Each spike has 15 to 35 individual flowers. The petals are small, about 2 to 4 millimeters long, and they fall off as the flower gets older. Each flower has many stamens, which are the parts that carry pollen.
This plant usually flowers in April, October, and December. After the flowers, small, woody fruits appear. These fruits are called capsules and are about 4 millimeters long.
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How Melaleuca serpentina Got Its Name
The plant was first officially described in 2009 by a scientist named Lyndley Craven. He found it near an old asbestos mine in Barraba.
The name serpentina comes from the word "serpentine." This is because the plant often grows on a special type of soil that comes from a rock called serpentinite.
Where Melaleuca serpentina Lives
You can find Melaleuca serpentina only in the Barraba area of New South Wales, Australia. It likes to grow in grassy woodlands, especially on soils that come from serpentinite rock.
