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Melaleuca decussata. Decussate 

 Melaleuca. 



Class and Order. 



PoLYADELPHIA IcOSANDRIA. 



Generic Character. 



Staminum phalanges 5, petalis opposite elongate : An- 

 ther<e incumbentes. Caps. 3-loeularis, polyspermaj con- 

 nata et inclusa calycis tubo incrassato basi adnato (ramo). 

 Brown. 



Specific Character and Synonyms. 



Melaleuca decussata ; foliis oppositis decussatis ovali-Iai*- 

 ceolatis trinervibus, spicis ovalibus glaberrimis, pha- 

 langibus polyandris : unguibus brevissimis. Brown in 

 Hort. Kew. ed. alt. 4. p. 415. 



An elegant flowering shrub, first discovered by our friend 

 Robert Brown, Esq. on the south coast of New Holland, 

 near the port of Lincoln. Introduced into the Kew garden 

 in 1803. The leaves in this species are opposite cross- 

 wise, making four equal ranks ; and like most of the natural 

 order are aromatic, having a slight taste of Cajeput. 



Cultivation makes a considerable change in the inflores- 

 cence of this shrub ; the flowers often appearing to grow in 

 roundish heads on peduncles ; but these are in reality 

 branches, with sessile flowers ; and after the flower decays 

 are elongated, and the part of the branch on which the 

 fruit grows is thickened, so that the capsules become half 

 immersed in the wood. 



Flowers from June to September. Requires the shelter 

 of a greenhouse. Propagated by cuttings. Communicated 

 seven years ago by Messrs. Loddiges and Sons. 



