''Melaleuca diosmatifolia'', commonly known as rosy paperbark and pink honey-myrtle 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 native to

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 ...

and

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

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 ...

. It was formerly known as ''Melaleuca erubescens'' but is not closely related to '' Melaleuca diosmifolia'' although the species name has the same meaning. It has pointed, non-prickly leaves and cylindrical spikes of pink or purple flowers.

Description

''Melaleuca diosmatifolia'' is a shrub with hard, rough grey bark growing to a height of about . Its leaves are arranged alternately on the stem, each leaf long, wide, almost circular in cross-section and ending with a point. They also have a few distinct oil glands The pinkish-purple to deep mauve flowers are arranged on a spike up to long and diameter, usually at the end of branches which continue to grow after the flowering period. Each spike contains between 15 and 50 separate flowers, each flower with five (rarely six) bundles of stamens, each bundle with 15 to 26 stamens. Flowering mainly occurs from November to December but also through to May and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules about long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca diosmatifolia'' was first formally described in 1811 by Georges Louis Marie Dumont de Courset in ''Le Botaniste Cultivateur''. 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 ...

(''diosmatifolia'') refers to an apparent similarity of the leaves of this species to those of '' Diosma''.

Distribution and habitat

''Melaleuca diosmatifolia'' occurs on the ranges and western slopes of New South Wales and Queensland from the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally ...

south to the Temora and

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Ridge, ...

districts and to coastal areas near

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. It grows in open forest and in areas subject to flooding.

Use in horticulture

This species is relatively common in cultivation, usually as ''Melaleuca erubescens'' and is often used as a screening plant. It is hardy, growing successfully in a wide range of soils, including those that are poorly drained. It is easily cultivated from both seed and cuttings and can be pruned to keep a bushy shape. It has attractive flowers which are reported not to fade as quickly as those of '' Melaleuca decussata'' which is also widely cultivated.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15370319 diosmatifolia Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1811