''Melaleuca micromera'', commonly known as wattle honey-myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family

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 ...

to a small area in the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. It is a rare species with unusual foliage and profuse small yellow flowerheads, making it a plant that is suitable for cultivation, if only to protect it from extinction.

Description

''Melaleuca micromera'' is an erect, rounded shrub growing to about high and wide with twisted branches. The leaves are tiny, in rings of three around the stem and pressed against it, long, wide and broad oval to almost circular in shape except for a small point at the end. The leaves are thick for their size and have two or three distinct oil dots. The flowers are arranged in small heads at or near the ends of the branches which continue to grow after flowering. The heads are up to in diameter and contain between 3 and 18 individual flowers. The petals are long and fall off as the flower matures. The stamens are yellow, arranged in five bundles around the flowers with 3 to 5 stamens in each bundle. The small heads of yellow flowers can make the plant look like a

wattle Wattle or wattles may refer to: Plants *''Acacia sensu lato'', polyphyletic genus of plants commonly known as wattle, especially in Australian English **''Acacia'' ***Black wattle, common name for several species of acacia ***Golden wattle, ''A ...

from a distance. Flowering occurs in early spring sometimes as early as July and is followed by fruit which are woody, cup-shaped capsules, long and wide, arranged in small groups along the stem. Melaleuca_micromera

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1844 by

Johannes Conrad Schauer Johannes Conrad Schauer (16 February 1813 – 24 October 1848) was a botanist interested in spermatophytes. He was born in Frankfurt am Main and attended the gymnasium of Mainz from 1825 to 1837. For the next three years he worked at the Hofgar ...

in ''Plantae Preissianae''. 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 ...

(''micromera'') is from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

words ''mikros'' (μικρός) meaning "small" and ''meros'' (μέρος) meaning "part",Backer, C.A. (1936). ''Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten'' (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs). apparently referring to the very small leaves of this species.

Distribution and habitat

''Melaleuca micromera'' has a restricted distribution in the Mount Barker,

Stirling Range The Stirling Range or Koikyennuruff is a range of mountains and hills in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, south-east of Perth. It is over wide from west to east, stretching from the highway between Mount Barker and Cranbro ...

and Green Range districts in the

Esperance Plains Esperance Plains, also known as Eyre Botanical District, is a biogeography, biogeographic region in southern Western Australia on the South_coast_of_Western_Australia , south coast between the Avon Wheatbelt and Hampton bioregions, and bordere ...

and

Jarrah Forest Jarrah Forest, also known as the Southwest Australia woodlands, is an interim Australian bioregion and ecoregion located in the south west of Western Australia.

biogeographic regions. It grows in clay or sandy gravel.

Conservation status

''Melaleuca micromera'' is listed as " Priority Three" by the

Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia is the States and territories of Australia, Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government or the Western Australian Governmen ...

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and en ...

which means that it is a poorly-known species known from several locations but does not appear to be under imminent threat.

Uses

Horticulture

This species is an interesting feature plant because of its extremely small leaves, unusual twisted branches and colourful flower heads. It has proven to be reliable in cultivation and is suitable for growing in rockeries or tubs, responding to a light annual pruning.

Essential oils

The oil from the leaves of this species consists mainly of monoterpenoids.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15371004 micromera Myrtales of Australia Rosids of Western Australia Plants described in 1844 Endemic flora of Western Australia Taxa named by Johannes Conrad Schauer