Melaleuca globifera

Melaleuca globifera is a shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a bushy, small tree with papery bark and spherical heads of flowers on the ends of the branches.

Description

Melaleuca globifera grows to a height of about and has light brown, papery bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately, long and, flat, oblong, thick, usually a slightly pointed end and with 5 to 7 parallel veins.
The flowers are in heads at the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering. Each head has between 12 and 20 groups of flowers in threes in diameter. The petals are long and fall off as the flower ages. The stamens are white to creamy yellow, arranged in 5 bundles around the flower, each bundle containing 7 to 10 stamens. Flowering occurs from June to September and is followed by the fruit which are woody capsules in globular clusters with a diameter of.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1812 by Robert Brown in the Hortus Kewensis of William Aiton. The specific epithet is from the Latin globus and -fer meaning "carrying", referring to the spherical fruiting clusters of this species.

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca globifera occurs on the coast near Esperance including the Cape le Grand and Cape Arid national parks, and on the nearby islands of the Recherche Archipelago in the Esperance Plains biogeographic region. It grows on white or grey sand, on granite outcrops and near salt lakes.

Conservation status

This melaleuca is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.