Melaleuca Decussata
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''Melaleuca decussata'', commonly known as cross-leaf honey-myrtle or totem poles, 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 ...
native to
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
and both native and naturalised in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
. It is an adaptable shrub, grown in many parts of
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 ...
for its attractive foliage but it is regarded as an environmental weed in parts of Victoria.


Description

''Melaleuca decussata'' is a densely branched shrub growing to a height and width of . The leaves are arranged in alternating pairs at right angles to the ones above and below so that the leaves are in 4 rows along the stems (
decussate Decussation is used in biological contexts to describe a crossing (due to the shape of the Roman numeral for ten, an uppercase 'X' (), ). In Latin anatomical terms, the form is used, e.g. . Similarly, the anatomical term chiasma is named aft ...
). The leaves are long, wide, linear, narrowly elliptic or narrow egg-shaped tapering to a point and concave in cross section. They also have prominent oil glands on their lower surface. The flowers are a shade of pink or purple but fade rapidly to white. They are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering and on the sides of the branches. The spikes are up to in diameter, long and have between 6 and 22 individual flowers. The petals are long and fall off as the flower ages. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flowers with 12 to 26 stamens in each bundle. The flowering season is from August to May but flowers mostly appear from November to February in the species' native range. The fruit which follows are woody capsules, characteristically fused together at their bases and sunken in the stem.


Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca decussata'' was first formally described by
Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...
in 1812 in the second edition of ''
Hortus Kewensis (Latin for 'Kew Garden'; abbr. ) is a series of works cataloguing the plant species in cultivation at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Background Kew became a favored location for English courtiers ...
'' from material collected from the southern coastal region of Australia. 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 ...
(''decussata'') refers to the decussate arrangement of the leaves.


Distribution and habitat

''Melaleuca decussata'' occurs between coastal areas of South Australia (including the
Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Earlier called Eyre's Peninsula, it was named after e ...
) and the centre of eastern Victoria.


Conservation status

This species has been declared an environmental weed in the
Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...
area, the catchments of the Broken and
Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, approximately south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent by Queen Victor ...
rivers and the
Wimmera The Victorian government's Wimmera Southern Mallee subregion is part of the Grampians region in western Victoria. It includes most of what is considered the Wimmera, and part of the southern Mallee region. The subregion is based on the social ...
bioregion. It is a garden escape which becomes naturalised in grasslands and grassy woodland. It is believed to be a threat to several natural vegetation associations and forms dense stands in native pastures. It grows in low nutrient soils subject to inundation.


Use in horticulture

''Melaleuca decussata'' is a hardy garden plant with attractive foliage. It will grow in most situations and has attractive mauve-coloured flowers, although they fade quickly to white. It is not advisable to plant this species within of a wastewater pipe because of its potential to cause damage.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6811004 Flora of South Australia Flora of Victoria (state) decussata Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1812