Melaleuca huegelii (Chenille Honey Myrtle)

Melaleuca huegelii, cultivated, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

Photograph by Melburnian. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

Growth Characteristics information is sourced from: State Flora Catalog, Government of South Australia Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license.

PLANT FACTS

distribution map showing range of Melaleuca huegelii in Australia

Map is from The Atlas of Living Australia web site, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License

Common Name
Chenille Honey Myrtle

Description
The Chenille Honey Myrtle is a medium to large shrub or small tree. There are two subspecies - Melaleuca huegelii huegelii which has white flowers and M. huegelii pristicensis which has mauve to pink flowers. The plant produces profuse clusters of bottlebrush flowers 50mm to 75mm long near the ends of the branches in early summer. The flower buds are also attractive. The leaves are very small and held against the stems like scales. In its natural habitat, M. huegelii has dry summers, but can be grown successfully in the eastern states where summer conditions are much wetter.

Habitat
coastal areas on limestone cliffs, dunes and plains.

Distribution
southern and central western coastal areas of Western Australia. Subspecies pristicensis is found in the northern part of the range around Shark Bay on central WA coast.

Growth Characteristics
Height (m): 3 - 4
Spread (m): 2 - 5
Soil Texture: sand, loam, clay, limestone
Soil pH: acid soils, neutral soils, alkaliine soils
Frost Sensitivity: moderately sensitive
Minimum Rainfall (mm): 500
Flower Colour: white, pink
Flower Season: spring, summer

(source: SA State Flora Catalog)

Propagation
can be propagated easily from seed or cuttings.

Wildlife Interest
attracts honeyeaters

Classification

Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Melaleuca
Species:	huegelii
Common Name:	Chenille Honey Myrtle

Relatives in same Genus
  Melaleuca acuminata
  Melaleuca adnata
  Melaleuca alternifolia
  Melaleuca argentea
  Melaleuca armillaris
  Melaleuca aspalathoides
  Melaleuca barlowii
  Melaleuca blaeriifolia
  Melaleuca bracteata
  Melaleuca brevifolia
  Melaleuca bromelioides
  Melaleuca calothamnoides
  Melaleuca calycina
  Melaleuca campanae
  Melaleuca cardiophylla
  Melaleuca carrii
  Melaleuca coccinea
  Melaleuca concreta
  Melaleuca conothamnoides
  Melaleuca cordata
  Melaleuca cucullata
  see A-Z list for more ...