Melaleuca salicina 

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids >  Myrtaceae >  Melaleuca salicina

Other links:     

Plant  information

Common name:               Willow Bottlebrush

Conservation status:   unknown

Etymology:   

• Melaleuca is derived from the Ancient Greek μέλας (mélas) meaning "dark" or "black" and λευκός (leukós) meaning "white"

• The specific epithet (salicina) refers to an apparent similarity between the leaves of this species and those of a species of willow in the genus Salix

Flowers:                  

• The flowers are white or creamy-white and are arranged in spikes at the end of, or around the branches which continue to grow after flowering

• The spikes are 20–35 mm in diameter and 50–80 mm long with 10 to 40 individual flowers

• The petals are 2.6–4 mm long and fall off as the flower ages and there are 48-65 stamens in each flower

• Flowering occurs from September to November and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules, 3.8–4.4 mm long and 4–5 mm in diameter

Fruit:                         

Leaves:         

• Arranged alternately and are 38–144 mm long, 5–16 mm wide

• More or less flat, narrow elliptic in shape and tapering towards both ends

• There is a mid-vein, marginal veins and 9-29 distinct lateral veins

Stem & branches: 

• A shrub or small tree growing to 15 m high 

• Soft, pink new growth 

• White or grey papery bark

Roots:         

Habit:        

• It is a shrub or small tree with soft foliage, pink new growth, white papery bark and spikes of usually white or creamy bottlebrush flowers in spring.

Habitat:   

• It grows along watercourses and coastal waterways and on river flats 

Distribution:                  

•  Endemic to eastern Australia

• Occurs in NSW from the border with Victoria along the coast and ranges to the Biloela and Bundaberg districts in Queensland

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy

  • This bottlebrush species was first formally described in 1797 by James Edward Smith who gave it the name Metrosideros saligna in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London

  • Then, in 1826, Robert Sweet transferred to the genus Callistemon in his Hortus Britannicus

  • In 2006, Lyndley Craven transferred the species to Melaleuca as Melaleuca salicina,a name that is listed as a synonym of C. salignus by the Australian Plant Census

  • Plants of the World Online considers the name Melaleuca salicina to be a synonym of Melaleuca lophantha (Vent.) ined

  • Some Australian state herbaria continue to use the name Callistemon salignus, a name that is accepted by the Australian Plant Census

• Use in horticulture

  • Has been known in gardens over many years, usually as Callistemon salignus

  • Under that synonym it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit

  • It can be used for providing shelter and screening and is well-suited as a street tree, or for planting in parks and gardens

  • Additionally, flowers will attract birds to a garden

  • The species is suited to a wide range of soil types, and can tolerate both wet and dry conditions and near-coastal exposure but it is not frost tolerant

  • Pink and red forms are seen in cultivation.

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melaleuca_salicina (2024)