''Melaleuca recurva'', commonly known as Tinaroo bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 spe ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

to higher areas of far northern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in Australia. (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 recurvus ''Melaleuca recurva'', commonly known as Tinaroo bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle Family (biology), family, Myrtaceae and is Endemism, endemic to higher areas of far northern Queensland in Australia. (Some Australian state Herbarium, herbar ...

''). It is a shrub with spikes of red flowers tipped with yellow in most months of the year and which often has leaves with their edges curled under.

Description

''Melaleuca recurva'' is a shrub or small tree growing to high with hard, fibrous bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are long, wide, flat and narrow egg-shaped with the end tapering to a point. The leaves have indistinct veins and randomly distributed oil glands. The young leaves and branches have fine, silky hairs pressed against their surfaces. The flowers are bright red tipped with yellow and are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering, sometimes also in the upper leaf axils. The spikes are in diameter. The petals are long, fall off as the flower ages and there are 26-36 stamens in each flower. Flowering occurs throughout the year but mainly in the cooler months and is followed by fruits that are woody capsules, long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca recurva'' 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 CSIRO plant taxonomy unit of the New Guinea Survey Gr ...

Novon The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropist Henry Shaw. Its herbarium, with more than 6.6 million sp ...

when ''Callistemon recurvus'' was moved to the present

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

. ''Callistemon recurvus'' was first formally described in 1990 by

Roger David Spencer Roger David Spencer (born 6 October 1945) is an Australia horticultural botanist who was born at Alfreton, Derbyshire. He has an honours degree in botany from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, a master's degree and doctorate from t ...

and Peter Lumley in Muelleria from a specimen collected on Mount Stewart, east of

Herberton Herberton is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Herberton had a population of 855 people. Geography Herberton is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is situ ...

. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''recurva'') is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

word meaning "recurved", referring to the leaves often being slightly bent backwards. ''Callistemon recurvus'' is regarded as a synonym of ''Melaleuca recurva'' 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

''Melaleuca recurva'' occurs in the higher districts in

from the Atherton Tableland south to the Bowen district where it grows in dense

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ma ...

and on rocky outcrops near rivers.

Use in horticulture

''Melaleuca recurva'' is often cultivated due to the presence of flowers through most of the year.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5022790

recurva ''Recurva'' is a genus of freshwater and free-living triclad platyhelminth that belongs to the Dugesiidae family. It contains two known species although, according to molecular evidences, there is probably a third one. Distribution Described s ...

Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1990