View source for Biology:Melaleuca thymifolia

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{italic title}}
{{speciesbox
|name = Thyme honey-myrtle
|image = Melaleuca thymifolia RBGS.JPG
|image_caption = ''Melaleuca thymifolia''
|genus = Melaleuca
|species = thymifolia
|authority = [[Biography:James Edward Smith (botanist)|Sm.]]<ref name="POWO">{{cite web |title=''Melaleuca thymifolia'' |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:598126-1 |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=10 September 2021}}</ref>
|synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO" />
|synonyms = {{collapsible list|
* ''Melaleuca coronata'' <small>Andrews</small>
* ''Melaleuca discolor'' <small>Rchb. ex Spreng.</small>
* ''Melaleuca fimbriata'' <small>Donn</small>
* ''Melaleuca gnidiifolia'' <small>Vent.</small>
* ''Melaleuca oligantha'' <small>F.Muell. ex Miq.</small>
* ''Melaleuca parvifolia'' <small>Otto</small>
* ''Melaleuca serpyllifolia'' <small>Dum.Cours.</small>
* ''Metrosideros calycina'' <small>Cav.</small>
* ''Myrtoleucodendron thymifolium'' <small>(Sm.) Kuntze</small>
* ''Ozandra granulata'' <small>Raf.</small>
}}
}}

'''''Melaleuca thymifolia''''', commonly known as '''thyme honey-myrtle''', is a plant in the myrtle family [[Biology:Myrtaceae|Myrtaceae]] and is native to eastern {{wipe|Australia}}. It is often noticed in spring, with its attractive, purple flowers and is one of the most commonly cultivated melaleucas. A fragrant shrub, it usually grows to about {{convert|1.0|m|ft|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall, has corky bark and slender, wiry stems.

==Description==
''Melaleuca thymifolia'' is a low, spreading shrub which grows to a height of about {{convert|1.0-1.5|m|ft|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} with grey, corky bark, [[Biology:Glabrousness|glabrous]] foliage and arching branches.  Its leaves are arranged in alternating pairs (decussate) so that they make four rows of leaves along the stem. The leaves are {{convert|5-15|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|1.0-3.5|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide, flat, elliptic in shape with a tapered end and often have their upper surface almost parallel to the stem.<ref name=Brophy>{{cite book|last1=Brophy|first1=Joseph J.|last2=Craven|first2=Lyndley A.|last3=Doran|first3=John C.|title=Melaleucas : their botany, essential oils and uses|date=2013|publisher=Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research|page=358|location=Canberra|isbn=9781922137517}}</ref><ref name=Holliday>{{cite book|last1=Holliday|first1=Ivan|title=Melaleucas : a field and garden guide|date=2004|publisher=Reed New Holland Publishers|location=Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.|isbn=1876334983|pages=286–287|edition=2nd}}</ref><ref name=RBGS>{{cite web|title=''Melaleuca thymifolia''|url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Melaleuca~thymifolia|publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: PlantNet|accessdate=11 June 2015}}</ref>

The flowers are a shade between pink and deep purple and are arranged in heads, sometimes at the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering, and sometimes on the sides of the branches. The heads contain 2 to 10 individual flowers and are up to {{convert|25|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} in diameter. The [[Biology:Stamen|stamen]]s are arranged in five bundles around the flower, each bundle containing 30 to 60 curved stamens. Flowering occurs over a long period, mostly in spring but also at other times of the year. Flowering is followed by fruit which are woody cup-shaped capsules, {{convert|3-5|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and wide. The fruit have five persistent teeth around the rim.<ref name="Brophy" /><ref name="Holliday" /><ref name="RBGS" />

==Taxonomy and naming==
The species was first formally described in 1797 by the English botanist, [[Biography:James Edward Smith (botanist)|James Smith]] in ''Transactions of the Linnean Society of London''<ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Melaleuca thymifolia''|url=https://biodiversity.org.au/boa/instance/apni/544986|publisher=APNI|accessdate=11 June 2015}}</ref><ref name=Linnean>{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=James Edward|title=Transactions of the Linnean Society of London (Volume 3)|date=1797|location=London|page=278|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/13713#page/305/mode/1up|accessdate=11 June 2015}}</ref> noting that "''Mr. Fairbairn has presented flowering specimens of this species to the Linnaean Society from Chelsea garden.''" The [[Biology:Botanical name|specific epithet]] (''thymifolia'') is a reference to the similarity of the leaves of this species to the leaves of ''[[Biology:Thymus|Thymus]]'' (thyme) in the family [[Biology:Lamiaceae|Lamiaceae]].<ref name="Brophy" /><ref>Les Robinson - Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, {{ISBN|978-0-7318-1211-0}} page 59</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
''Melaleuca thymifolia'' occurs from Pigeon House Mountain in New South Wales,<ref name="RBGS" /> north to south eastern Queensland with a [[Earth:Disjunct distribution|disjunct]] population in the Carnarvon Range in central Queensland.<ref name="Brophy" /><ref name="Holliday" /> It grows in seasonal swamps and along creeks in a variety of soils.<ref name="RBGS" />

==Use in horticulture==
''Melaleuca thymifolia'' may be the most commonly cultivated of its genus because of its attractive flowers, graceful form and adaptability to a wide range of soils and condition.<ref name="Holliday" /> It is frost and drought hardy and long-lived but does best in well watered situations, sometimes spreading to {{convert|3|m|ft|sigfig=1}}.<ref name=ANBG>{{cite web|title=''Melaleuca thymifolia''|url=https://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/gnp4/melaleuca-thymifolia.html|publisher=Australian National Botanic Garden|accessdate=11 June 2015}}</ref>

A number of cultivars have been developed including ''Melaleuca thymifolia'' ‘Pink Lace and ''Melaleuca thymifolia'' ‘White Lace’<ref name=ANPSA>{{cite web|title=''Melaleuca thymifolia''|url=http://anpsa.org.au/m-thym.html|publisher=Australian Native Plants Society (Australia)|accessdate=11 June 2015}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
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[[Category:Melaleuca|thymifolia]]

{{Sourceattribution|Melaleuca thymifolia}}