Melaleuca cliffortioides is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, prickly shrub very similar to Melaleuca podiocarpa but with fewer stamens in the flowers.
Melaleuca cliffortioides grows to a height of about 1.6 m (5 ft). Its branchlets are densely covered with soft, fine hairs. The leaves are arranged alternately, 4–9 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long, 1.6–2.5 mm (0.06–0.1 in) wide, narrow oval to egg-shaped, tapering to a sharp point and have many prominent oil glands.[2][3]
The plant flowers profusely but the white or cream-coloured flowers occur singly within the foliage of the shrub and are sweetly scented.[4] The petals are 2.2–2.8 mm (0.087–0.11 in) long and fall off as the flower opens. The stamens are in five bundles around the flower, each bundle containing 8 to 13 stamens. (In Melaleuca podiocarpa there are 30 to 45 stamens per bundle.) The main flowering season is in September and the fruit which follow are woody capsules 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long.[2][3]
Melaleuca cliffortioides was first formally described in 1905 by Ludwig Diels in Botanische jahrbucher fur systematik, pflanzengeschichte und pflanzengeographie under the heading Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae occidentalis:Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Pflanzen Westaustraliens, ihrer Verbreitung und ihrer Lebensverhaltnisse ("Contributions to the knowledge of the plants of West Australia, where they are found and their conditions of existence").[5][6] The specific epithet (cliffortioides) refers to the apparent similarity of this species with a species of Cliffortia.[3] The ending -oides is a Latin suffix meaning "resembling" or "having the form of".[7]
This melaleuca is found from the Ravensthorpe district to the Norseman district[3] in the Coolgardie, Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions.[8] It grows in sandy on rocky slopes and on undulating plains.[9]
This species is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.[8]
Melaleuca cliffortioides is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, prickly shrub very similar to Melaleuca podiocarpa but with fewer stamens in the flowers.
Habit near Ravensthorpe
