Melaleuca stramentosa facts for kids

Melaleuca stramentosa is a special plant from the myrtle family. It's a type of shrub that only grows in the south-west part of Western Australia. This means it's endemic to that area, found nowhere else in the world! It looks a bit like another plant called Melaleuca similis. Both have roundish leaves and pretty pink to purple flowers. But Melaleuca stramentosa is unique because it has soft, woolly hairs around its flowers and on its new leaves.

What Does This Plant Look Like?

Melaleuca stramentosa is a bushy shrub. It can grow up to about 1.5 m (5 ft) tall. When new parts of the plant grow, they are covered with soft, silky, or woolly hairs.

Its Leaves

The leaves grow in an alternating pattern along the stem. They are usually 6–12 mm (0.2–0.5 in) long and 1.0–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) wide. Their shape is long and narrow, like a very thin egg. If you cut a leaf in half, it would look like a half-circle or almost a full circle.

Its Flowers and Fruits

The flowers are a lovely shade of pink to purple. They grow in round clusters at the ends of the branches. These branches keep growing even after the flowers bloom. Sometimes, flowers also appear where the leaves meet the stem.

The flower clusters can be up to 17 mm (0.7 in) across. Each cluster has up to four groups of three flowers. The petals are small, about 1.3–2 mm (0.05–0.08 in) long, and they fall off as the flower gets older. The outside of the flower's base, called the floral cup, is hairy. Inside the flower, there are five groups of stamens, which are the parts that make pollen. Each group has 4 to 6 stamens.

This plant mainly flowers in October. After the flowers, it grows woody, cylinder-shaped fruits called capsules. These capsules are about 4.0 mm (0.2 in) wide and long. They grow in loose, uneven clusters along the stems.

How Did It Get Its Name?

The scientific name Melaleuca stramentosa was first officially described in 1999. This was done by a scientist named Lyndley Craven. He wrote about it in a scientific journal called Australian Systematic Botany.

Meaning of Stramentosa

The second part of its name, stramentosa, comes from a Latin word, stramen. This word means "straw" or "litter." It refers to the silky or woolly hairs you can see on the young parts of this plant.

Where Does This Plant Live?

This type of melaleuca plant is found in the Ravensthorpe area of Western Australia. This region is part of a larger area known as the Esperance Plains. It likes to grow in sandy or gravelly soil. You can often find it in areas with low, shrubby plants called heath on flat plains.

Is This Plant Safe?

The Government of Western Australia's Department of Parks and Wildlife has looked at Melaleuca stramentosa. They have officially said that it is "not threatened." This means there are enough of these plants, and they are not currently in danger of disappearing.