''Melaleuca polandii'', commonly known as gold-tipped bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

a small area in far northern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. (Some Australian state

herbaria A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

continue to use the name ''Callistemon polandii''.) It is a dense shrub with bronze-coloured, hairy new growth and spikes of red flowers tipped with yellow.

Description

''Melaleuca polandii'' is a shrub growing to high. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are long, wide, flat, narrow egg-shaped and tapering to a point. The leaves have a distinct mid-vein and 19 to 25 lateral veins. The young leaves and branches are covered with fine, silky hairs. The flowers are bright red and are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering and sometimes in the upper leaf axils. The spikes are in diameter. The petals are long, fall off as the flower ages and there are 35-50 stamens in each flower. Flowering occurs from late winter to summer, sometimes in other months and is followed by fruit that are woody capsules, long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca polandii'' was first named in 2006 by

Lyndley Craven Lyndley Alan Craven (3 September 1945 – 11 July 2014) was a botanist who became the Principal Research Scientist of the Australian National Herbarium. Lyndley ("Lyn") Craven worked for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organ ...

in Novon when ''Callistemon polandii'' was transferred to the present

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

. ''Callistemon polandii'' was first formally described in 1902 by

Frederick Manson Bailey Frederick Manson Bailey (8 March 1827 – 25 June 1915) was a botanist active in Australia, who made valuable contributions to the characterisation of the flora of Queensland. He was known by his middle name, Manson. Early life Bailey was bo ...

from a specimen collected in "Bloomfield River yRev. W. Poland". The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''polandii'') honours Wilhelm Poland, a missionary at Wujal Wujal (formerly the Bloomfield River Mission). ''Callistemon polandii'' is regarded as a synonym of ''Melaleuca polandii'' by the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

Distribution and habitat

This melaleuca occurs in the

Cape Flattery Cape Flattery () is the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States. It is in Clallam County, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca joins the Pacific Ocean. It is also part of the Makah Reservation, a ...

and

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the '' Endeavour'', for ...

districts of

where it grows in dense wallum

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

in sandy or peaty soils.

Use in horticulture

''Melaleuca polandii'' is a hardy shrub, suitable for warm coastal areas. It is useful as a screen or hedge but is known to damage wastewater pipes.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20721743 polandii Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1902