Scientific Name : Melaleuca bracteata F. Muell. 'Revolution Gold'
Common Name : Honey Myrtle, Golden Tea Tree
Chinese Name : 黃金串錢柳, 黃金香柳
Family : MYRTACEAE
Local distribution status : Exotic species
| Origin | Melaleuca bracteata is native to Australia. |
|---|---|
| Vitality | Honey Myrtle acclimatises to multiple climates and soils but grows better in well-drained soils. |
| Application |
Honey Myrtle is regarded as highly ornamental in view of its appealing golden-green foliage. The leaf colour is vivid and emblematic enough to be diagnosed from other Melaleuca spp. which the leaf shapes are relatively comparable. It can be planted in solitary and is well-matched to any greening configuration. For the reason that the leaves are enriched with tea tree oil, a kind of essential oil that is abundant in Myrtaceae, they are aromatic when crushed. The tea tree oil of Honey Myrtle is studied with excellent antioxidant and antimicrobial effects, showing its hidden potential for pharmaceutical and agricultural purposes. |
| Meanings of name |
The generic name Melaleuca is a blend of the Greek words melas, meaning black, and leukos, meaning white, collectively referring to the members of this genus sharing black trunk and white branchlets. The specific epithet bracteata means ‘with bract’, describing its bracts still clinging to the flowers while blooming. Honey Myrtle is a cultivar of M. bracteata. According to the guideline of International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP), a cultivar should be named with a cultivar epithet in single quotation marks after the scientific name of its respective species. Here, the cultivator epithet 'Revolution Gold' describes its golden green foliage which is the cultivated characteristic distant from the wild M. bracteata. |
| Growing habit | Evergreen tree. |
|---|---|
| Height | To 6 m. |
| Stem | Bark grey, coarse, fissured. |
| Leaves | Simple leaves alternate. Blade glabrous, golden-green, linear to narrowly oblong, margin entire, veins parallel. |
| Flower | Hermaphroditic. Spikes terminal, lateral axillary-like when new leaves emerge. Flowers solitary or 2-3 clustered, scented, stamens many, white. |
| Fruit | Capsules globular, with persistent calyx at the apex. |
| Flowering period | / |
| Fruiting period | / |
Scientific name above is based on the website of Greening, Landscape and Tree Management Section, Development Bureau:
https://www.greening.gov.hk/filemanager/greening/en/content_100/11_Melaleuca_bracteata_Revolution_Gold.pdf