Melaleuca linearis
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
|name= Narrow-leaved bottlebrush
|image = Narrow-leaved Bottlebrush flower (8349172340).jpg
|image_caption = Melaleuca linearis in the Royal National Park
|status =
|status_system =
|genus = Melaleuca
|species = linearis
|authority = Schrad. & J.C.Wendl.{{cite web |title=Melaleuca linearis |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:598004-1 |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=31 August 2021}}
|synonyms =
- Callistemon linearis (Schrad.] & J.C.Wendl.) Colvill ex Sweet
- Metrosideros linearis (Schrad.] & J.C.Wendl.) Sm.
}}
Melaleuca linearis, commonly known as narrow-leaved bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. It is a medium-sized shrub with narrow leaves with a rigid point, and red flower spikes in late spring or early summer.
Description
Melaleuca linearis is a shrub growing to {{convert|3|m|ft|sigfig=1}} tall with grey, hard, fibrous bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are {{convert|35-115|mm|in|sigfig=1}} long, {{convert|0.7-2.7|mm|in|sigfig=1}} wide, narrow linear in shape and flat to channelled or semi-circular in cross section. There is a mid-vein but the lateral veins are inconspicuous.{{cite book|last1=Brophy|first1=Joseph J.|last2=Craven|first2=Lyndley A.|last3=Doran|first3=John C.|title=Melaleucas : their botany, essential oils and uses|date=2013|publisher=Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research|location=Canberra|isbn=9781922137517|pages=230–231}}{{cite web|last1=Spencer|first1=Roger|last2=Lumley|first2=Peter F.|title=Callistemon linearis (Schrad. & J.C.Wendl.) Colvill ex Sweet |url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Callistemon~linearis|publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: Plantnet|access-date=14 July 2015}}{{cite web|title=Callistemon linearis|url=http://anpsa.org.au/c-lin.html|publisher=Australian Native Plants Society Australia|access-date=14 July 2015}}
The flowers are a shade of red, rarely green and arranged in spikes on the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering and also on the sides of the branches. The spikes are {{convert|40-65|mm|in|sigfig=1}} in diameter and {{convert|5-10|cm|in|sigfig=2}} long with 20 to 90 individual flowers. The petals are {{convert|3.2-7|mm|in|sigfig=1}} long and fall off as the flower ages and there are 23–73 stamens in each flower. Flowering occurs from late spring to early summer and is followed by fruits that are woody capsules, {{convert|3.8-8.2|mm|in|sigfig=1}} long.
File:Callistemon linearis capsules old and new (8349175974).jpg
Taxonomy and naming
Melaleuca linearis was first formally described in 1796 by Heinrich Schrader and Johann Christoph Wendland in Sertum Hannoveranum.{{cite web|title=Melaleuca linearis|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/boa/instance/apni/514319|publisher=APNI|access-date=14 July 2015}}{{cite book|last1=Schrader|first1=Heinrich|last2=Wendland|first2=Johann Christoph|title=Sertum Hannoveranum 2|date=1796|page=19|url=http://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/ing/Libro.php?Libro=3957&Pagina=7|access-date=14 July 2015}} The specific epithet (linearis) is a Latin word linearis meaning "linear"{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Roland Wilbur|title=The Composition of Scientific Words|date=1956|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.|page=485}} in reference to the shape of the leaves of this species.
In 2006, Craven described two varieties of Melaleuca linearis in the journal Novon:
- Melaleuca linearis Schrad. & J.C.Wendl. var. linearis{{cite web|title=Melaleuca linearis var. linearis|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/boa/instance/apni/662426|publisher=APNI|access-date=22 November 2021}} has leaves that are more than {{convert|1.3|mm|in|sigfig=1}} wide, usually 23–33 stamens per flower and occurs in Queensland south to the Coonabarabran and Narrabri districts in New South Wales and also in and between the Central Coast and Nowra districts in New South Wales.
- Melaleuca linearis var. pinifolia (J.C.Wendl.) Craven{{cite web|title=Melaleuca linearis var. pinifolia|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/boa/instance/apni/613693|publisher=APNI|access-date=20 July 2015}} has leaves that are less than {{convert|1.3|mm|in|sigfig=1}} wide, 34–73 stamens per flower and occurs in the Gilgandra, Kandos and Sydney districts in New South Wales.
=Synonymy=
Plants of the World Online regards Callistemon linearis as a synonym of M. linearis,{{cite web |title=Callistemon linearis |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/results?q=Callistemon%20linearis |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=22 November 2021}} C. pinifolius as a synonym of M. linearis var. acerosa (although this variety, named by Tausch has not been formally described){{cite web |title=Callistemon pinifolius |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/results?q=Callistemon%20pinifolius |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=22 November 2021}} and C. rigidus as a synonym of M. linearis var. linearis.{{cite web |title=Callistemon rigidus |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/results?q=Callistemon%20rigidus |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=22 November 2021}} It further considers M. linearis var. pinifolia to be a synonym of M. linearis var. acerosa.{{cite web |title=Melaleuca linearis var. pinifolia |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/results?q=Melaleuca%20linearis%20var.%20pinifolia |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=22 November 2021}} However, the National Herbarium of New South Wales retains the names Callistemon linearis,{{cite web|title=Callistemon linearis|url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Callistemon~linearis|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney:Plantnet|access-date=21 July 2015}} Callistemon pinifolius{{cite web |title=Callistemon pinifolius (J.C.Wendl.) Sweet |url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Callistemon~pinifolius|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney:Plantnet|access-date=21 July 2015}} and Callistemon rigidus.{{cite web|title=Callistemon rigidus R.Br. |url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Callistemon~rigidus|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney:Plantnet|access-date=21 July 2015}}
The Australian Plant Census considers M. linearis to be a synonym of C. linearis,{{cite web|title=Callistemon linearis|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/97298|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=22 November 2021}} M. linearis var. pinifolia a synonym of C. pinifolius,{{cite web|title=Callistemon pinifolius|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/97484|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=22 November 2021}} and C. rigidus a synonym of C. linearis.{{cite web|title=Callistemon linearis|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/97298|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=22 November 2021}}
A 2012 paper in the journal Muelleria suggested that if Callistemon were to be subsumed into Melaleuca, there would be "no morphological characters to uniquely define it (Melaluca)".{{cite journal|last1=Udovicic|first1=Frank|last2=Spencer|first2=Roger|date=2012|title=New combinations in Callistemon (Myrtaceae)|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/59605029#page/25/mode/1up|journal=Muelleria|volume=30|issue=1|pages=23–25|access-date=11 June 2015}} Indeed, in a 2014 paper in Taxon, Craven and others proposed transferring Beaufortia, Calothamnus, Conothamnus, Eremaea, Lamarchea, Phymatocarpus and Regelia to Melaleuca, a change largely accepted by Plants of the World Online, but not by any Australian authority.{{cite journal |last1=Craven |first1=Lyn A. |last2=Edwards |first2=Robert D. |last3=Cowley |first3=Kirsten J. |title=New combinations and names in Melaleuca (Myrtaceae) |journal=Taxon |date=30 June 2014 |volume=63 |issue=3 |pages=663–670 |doi=10.12705/633.38|doi-access=free }}{{cite web |title=Beaufortia |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:27433-1 |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=22 November 2021}}{{cite web |title=Calothamnus |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:27455-1 |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=22 November 2021}}{{cite web |title=Conothamnus |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:27494-1 |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=22 November 2021}}{{cite web |title=Eremaea |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:27527-1 |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=22 November 2021}}{{cite web |title=Lamarchea |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:27595-1 |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=22 November 2021}}{{cite web |title=Phymatocarpus |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:27696-1 |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=22 November 2021}}
(Plants of the World Online considers Regelia to be a synonym of Verschaffeltia.)
Distribution and habitat
Use in horticulture
Melaleuca linearis has long been in cultivation (as Callistemon linearis, C. pinifolius and C. rigidus). Although not common in gardens, it is a hardy plant, thriving in most soils but preferring full sun. It is more resistant to pests such as sawfly than other melaleucas.{{cite book|last1=Wrigley|first1=John W.|last2=Fagg|first2=Murray|title=Australian native plants : a manual for their propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping|date=1983|publisher=Collins|location=Sydney|isbn=0002165759|pages=192–193|edition=2nd}} It has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/2689/Callistemon-linearis/Details | title = Callistemon linearis | website = www.rhs.org | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 12 April 2020}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Melaleuca linearis}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q50845569|from2=Q5022778}}
Category:Flora of New South Wales