Melastoma affine

Appearance

It is found as a shrub to 2 m in height. The leaves are ovate and measure 6 to 12 cm in length, and 2–4 cm wide. Covered in fine hair they have longitudinal veins. Appearing in spring and summer, the flowers occur on the ends of branchlets and are purple with five petals and sepals. There are two sets of distinctive stamens, five opposite the petals and five opposite the sepals. The antesepalous ones have long anthers with a bilobed appendage at their base. It produces 8mm long purple fruits that split open to expose a redish to purple flesh with many small seeds. The common name "blue tongue" refers to the edible purplish-black pulp within the fruit capsules which stains the mouth blue.

Distribution

''Melastoma affine'' is found from India through southeast Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia and into Australia. Within Australia, it is found from the Kimberleys in Western Australia, across the Northern Territory and Queensland, and reaches as far south as Kempsey on the New South Wales mid north coast. It grows in wet areas in sclerophyll forest.

''M. affine'' is important as being a pioneer species that colonises disturbed wet-sclerophyll and rain forest habitats in the Australasian region. It produces no nectar - giving pollinators large amounts of pollen instead, which must be extracted through pores on the anthers. ''Melastoma affine'' is pollinated by bees, particularly ''Xylocopa bombylans'', ''X.'' aff. ''gressittii'', ''Amegilla anomola'' and ''Nomia'' species. Honeybees outcompete native bees for pollen at flowers, impacting on the species' reproduction.

Habitat

''Melastoma affine'' is found from India through southeast Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia and into Australia. Within Australia, it is found from the Kimberleys in Western Australia, across the Northern Territory and Queensland, and reaches as far south as Kempsey on the New South Wales mid north coast. It grows in wet areas in sclerophyll forest.

''M. affine'' is important as being a pioneer species that colonises disturbed wet-sclerophyll and rain forest habitats in the Australasian region. It produces no nectar - giving pollinators large amounts of pollen instead, which must be extracted through pores on the anthers. ''Melastoma affine'' is pollinated by bees, particularly ''Xylocopa bombylans'', ''X.'' aff. ''gressittii'', ''Amegilla anomola'' and ''Nomia'' species. Honeybees outcompete native bees for pollen at flowers, impacting on the species' reproduction.