Appearance
''Melaleuca longistaminea'' is a prickly, sprawling, many-branched, woody shrub growing to 2 m tall with glabrous branches and leaves. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are 4.5–13.5 mm long, 3–11.5 mm wide, egg-shaped to heart-shaped and tapering to a sharp point. They have 11 to 19 parallel veins, giving the leaf the appearance of having fine striations.The flowers are a shade of lime-green to yellow and are arranged in heads on the sides of the branches. The heads are up to 45 mm in diameter and composed of 5 to 15 individual flowers. The petals are 3–3.7 mm long and fall off as the flower ages. There are five bundles of stamens around the flower, each with 9 to 24 stamens. Flowering occurs between June and October and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules, 3.5–6.5 mm long in clusters of 7 to 15 along the branches.
Naming
''Melaleuca longistaminea'' was first named in 1999 by Lyndley Craven in ''Australian Systematic Botany''. It was first formally described in 1863 by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name ''Melaleuca cardiophylla'' subsp. ''longistaminea'' from a specimen collected near the Murchison River. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin words ''longus'' meaning "long":494 and ''stamen'':798 referring to the relatively long stamens of this species.Distribution
''Melaleuca longistaminea'' occurs in and between the Murchison River, Carnamah and Wongan Hills districts in the Avon Wheatbelt and Geraldton Sandplains biogeographic regions. It is found in heath, shrubland, scrub and sandplain growing in sand over sandstone and granite.Status
''Melaleuca longistaminea'' is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.Habitat
''Melaleuca longistaminea'' occurs in and between the Murchison River, Carnamah and Wongan Hills districts in the Avon Wheatbelt and Geraldton Sandplains biogeographic regions. It is found in heath, shrubland, scrub and sandplain growing in sand over sandstone and granite.References:
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