Melaleuca tuberculata arenaria

Description

Melaleuca tuberculata is a small, variable shrub in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. There are three distinct varieties of this species, each with a different leaf size and shape, different distributions and somewhat different habitat preferences.Melaleuca tuberculata grows to a height of 0.2–2 m (0.7–7 ft). Its leaves are arranged alternately, 2–19 mm (0.08–0.7 in) long, 0.8–3.5 mm (0.03–0.1 in) wide and are linear to narrow oval in shape.The flowers are arranged in heads up to 25 mm (1 in) in diameter, at or near the ends of the branches, with one to seven groups of flowers, each with three individual flowers. There are hairy brown bracts at the base of the flowers and the flower buds are covered with white, woolly hairs. The flowers appear from August to December, varying slightly with each variety, and are pale to mid-pink or mauve. The stamens are arranged in bundles of five around the flower, with six to ten stamens in each bundle, the bright yellow anthers contrasting with the mauve filaments. The cup-shaped base of the flower (the hypanthium) is hairy and 1.5–3 millimetres (0.06–0.1 in) long. The woody capsules are 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and wide.