Melaleuca wimmerensis
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{speciesbox
|name = Wimmera bottlebrush
|image = Callistemon wimmerensis.jpg
|image_caption = Melaleuca wimmerensis in Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne
|status = CR
|status_system = EPBC
|genus = Melaleuca
|species = wimmerensis
|authority = (Marriott & G.W.Carr) Craven{{cite web |title=Melaleuca wimmerensis |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77105490-1 |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=14 September 2021}}
|synonyms = Callistemon wimmerensis Marriott & G.W.Carr
}}
Melaleuca wimmerensis, commonly known as the Wimmera bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the state of Victoria in Australia. (Some Australian state herbaria continue to use the name Callistemon wimmerensis).{{cite journal|last1=Udovicic|first1=Frank|last2=Spencer|first2=Roger|title=New combinations in Callistemon (Myrtaceae)|journal=Muelleria|date=2012|volume=30|issue=1|pages=23–25|doi=10.5962/p.292240 |s2cid=251007557 |url=http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/documents/Muelleria_30-1_3_Udovicic_Spencer.pdf|accessdate=11 June 2015}} It is a recently (2008) discovered shrub, often with many stems arising from a lignotuber and is similar to Melaleuca paludicola but has pink or mauve flowers tipped with yellow anthers over a short period between October and early December.
Description
Melaleuca wimmerensis is a shrub growing to {{convert|10|m|ft|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall, often multistemmed with a dense crown and fibrous, grey to brown bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are mainly {{convert|30-50|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|4-7|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide, narrow elliptic to egg-shaped tapering to a sharply pointed end. There is a mid-vein but the lateral veins are indistinct. Oil glands are visible on the lower surface of the leaves.{{cite web|title=Approved Conservation Advice for Callistemon wimmerensis (Wimmera Bottlebrush)|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=82943#summary|publisher=Australian Government Department of the Environment|accessdate=22 July 2015}}{{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|page=390}}{{cite journal|last1=Marriott|first1=Neil|last2=Carr|first2=Geoffrey|title=A new species of Callistemon (Myrtaceae, Melaleuceae) from Victoria, Australia|journal=Muelleria|date=2008|volume=26|issue=2|pages=57–63|doi=10.5962/p.337561 |s2cid=250995840 |url=http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/documents/Muelleria_26%282%29%2C_p57-63%2C_Marriott__Carr%2C_new_Callistemon.pdf|accessdate=22 July 2015}}
The flowers are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering and are {{convert|32-35|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} in diameter with 12 to 50 individual flowers. The petals are {{convert|4-5|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long and fall off as the flower ages and there are 45-50 stamens in each flower. The filaments of the stamens are pink, tipped with a yellow anther. Flowering occurs over a short period between October and December and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules, {{convert|4.5–5.0|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long when mature.
Taxonomy and naming
Callistemon wimmerensis was first formally described in 2008 by Neil Marriott and Geoffrey Carr in Muelleria, based on a population occurring on crown land on the west bank of the Mackenzie River near Horsham. In 2011 another population was reported to have been discovered in a swamp in the southern Grampians.{{cite web|title=What's in the Bush 2 Rare Callistemon|date=31 January 2011|publisher=Australian Plants Society, Geelong|url=http://www.apsgeelong.org/Newsletters/2011/March-2011.pdf|accessdate=22 July 2015}}{{cite web|title=Callistemon wimmerensis|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/boa/instance/apni/632702|publisher=APNI|accessdate=22 July 2015}} Lyndley Craven transferred the species to Melaleuca in 2009, giving the description in Novon.{{cite web|title=Melaleuca wimmerensis|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/boa/instance/apni/653282|publisher=APNI|accessdate=22 July 2015}}{{cite journal|last1=Craven|first1=Lyn A.|title=Melaleuca (Myrtaceae) from Australia|journal=Novon|date=2009|volume=19|page=446|doi=10.3417/2007008|s2cid=85017631 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40330691#page/453/mode/1up|accessdate=22 July 2015}} The specific epithet (wimmerensis) refers to the locality where the species is found.
Callistemon wimmerensis is regarded as a synonym of Melaleuca wimmerensis by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.{{WCSP | 372445 | Callistemon wimmerensis }}
Distribution and habitat
Conservation
Melaleuca wimmerensis (as Callistemon wimmerensis) has been classified as "critically endangered" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q5022794}}
Category:Flora of Victoria (state)
Category:Critically endangered flora of Australia