Melaleuca wilsonii 

Location & distribution maps

Common name:         Wilson's Honey-myrtle

Conservation status: ...

Etymology:   

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

• The specific epithet (wilsonii) is a reference to a Charles Wilson, a friend of Mueller who apparently had some role in drawing the species to the botanist's attention

Flowers

• Flowers occur on the older wood in clusters up to 10 cm long, 25 mm in diameter and are pale to dark pink or lilac in colour

• The stamens are arranged in bundles of five around each flower with 6 to 15 stamens per bundle

• The petals are brown, 2.8–3.3 mm and deciduous

• Flowers appear from October to December but mainly in the first weeks of November 

Fruit:                            

• The fruits are woody capsules 2.5–3.5 mm long and scaly with the sepals remaining as teeth on the fruit

Leaves:         

• The leaves are arranged in alternating pairs (decussate) and are 8–15 mm long, 1–2 mm wide and taper to a point

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• A dense shrub growing to 2 m high and often spreading to 3 m wide with rough, flaky or corky bark

Habitat:   

• It grows in seasonally flooded and poorly drained soils in open scrubland, eucalypt forest and mallee heath

Distribution:                  

• Ffrom the south-east corner of South Australia to western and central Victoria

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy 

  • Melaleuca wilsonii was first formally described in 1861 by Victorian State Botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae from specimens collected by Reverend Julian Tenison-Woods in desert country near Tatiara and in the desert around Lake Hindmarsh by John Dallachy

  • It is a member of Melaleuca, a large and diverse genus whose members range from large trees such as M. quinquenervia, to small shrubs

• Uses

  • Horticulture

    • This species is often cultivated, thriving in light to heavy soils and preferring a sunny, well-drained position

    • It is frost- and drought tolerant

    • It may flower less in humid areas and the flowers that appear wilt quickly

    • It was brought into cultivation in England in 1874 and is rarely seen in the United States

    • The flowers attract birds and insects

    • It is highly regarded as a horticultural subject

    • Melaleuca wilsonii can be propagated by seed or cutting

  • Essential oils

    • The leaves of this shrub contain monoterpenes including 1,8-cineole but the amount is low

Sources of information:

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