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Melaleuca uncinata

Common name:		Family:	Myrtaceae
Author:	R.Br.	Botanical references:
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Australia - New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia.
Habitat:	Usually found on sandy gravelly soils of fairly arid inland areas[152]
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Nd [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	uncinata = hooked
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Myrtales. Myrtle family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Australia

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 2m. . It is in leaf all year. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Pectoral.

Pectoral. The leaves are chewed to relieve catarrh[152, 154].

Other Uses

Essential Wood.

An essential oil is obtained from the leaves, it has a peppermint flavour and is used medicinally[152, 154].
Wood - hard, durable, apt to split on drying[154]. The dried branches are used in brush fences[157].

Cultivation details

We do not have much information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain. If it does succeed outdoors then it is only likely to do so in the very mildest parts of the country. It tolerates temperatures down to at least -7° c in Australian gardens[157] but this cannot be translated directly to British gardens because of our cooler summers and longer colder and wetter winters.
Requires a fertile, well-drained moisture retentive lime-free soil in full sun[182]. Prefers a soil that does not contain much nitrogen[188].
Seed takes about 12 months to develop on the plant, the woody seed capsules persist for 3 or more years[200].
Any pruning is best done after the plants have flowered with the intention of maintaining a compact habit[200].
Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus[200].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in spring or autumn onto a pot of permanently moist soil in a warm greenhouse. Emmerse in 5cm of water and do not water from overhead. Grow on until the seedlings are 0.5cm tall then remove from the water and pot up a week later. Seedlings are liable to damp off when grown this way, sowing the seed thinly, good ventilation and hygiene are essential for success[200]. Grow the plants on for at least their first winter in a greenhouse and then plant them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Consider giving the plants some protection from the cold for their first few winters outdoors.
Cuttings of half-ripe lateral shoots with a heel, July/August in a frame[200].

Scent

Leaves:: No details on scent.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Myrtaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[152] Lassak. E. V. and McCarthy. T. Australian Medicinal Plants.
A very good and readable guide to the subject.

[154] Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.
A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.

[157] Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. Australian Native Plants. Collins. (Australia) 1988 ISBN 0-7322-0021-0
A lovely book, written in order to encourage Australian gardeners to grow their native plants. A little bit of information for the plant project.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Melaleuca+uncinata
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Melaleuca+uncinata

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