THE MYRTLE FAMILY 
More than half of all Australian trees belong to the Myrtle Family, most of them 
evergreen and having aromatic qualities. 
5 
Included are Eucalyptus, Melaleuca, Calliste- 
mon, Eugenia, Myrtus, Rhodomyrtus, Pimenta, Metrosiderods — just to mention a few 
that are grown as ornamentals in Florida. 
Most of them show an affinity for Florida growing conditions and they should 
family. 
be widely used to brighten our landscape. 
MELALEUCA. There are 120 differ- 
ent evergreen trees and shrubs in this 
Australian family of which only one, the 
Punk or Cajyeput (M. leucadendra) is 
common in Florida. Moonan (M. pubes- 
scens) is a tall shrub or tree with small, 
white flowers in loose spikes, recommend- 
ed for coastal planting and sand binding 
The Droorpinc Mevateuca (M. armil- 
laris) is a tall shrub with gracefully droop- 
ing branches, very fine-cut leaves and 
“showy white flowers. M. ericifolia var. 
erubescens has pink or red flowers, pre- 
fers swampy areas. SNOW-IN-SUMMER (M. 
linariifolia) is a magnificent spreading 
tree covered in summer with a mantle of 
white, likes wet ground. The WuirTE 
Croup (M. bracteata) is a lovely pyra- 
midal tree with a smother of small white 
flowers. Rosin Repsreast (M. lateritia) 
is a striking, graceful shrub with cane- 
like branches and soft orange-scarlet 
There are about 65 other genera in the 
flowers. M. nodosa is a bushy shrub to 12 
feet with showy globular pale yellow 
flower heads. M. steedmani, says Lord, 
is “one of the very best of the family,” 
with intense crimson bottlebrush flowers 
tipped with gold. M. huegeli is a bushy, 
spreading shrub with tiny spiral foliage 
and dense narrow cream flower spikes to 
5 inches long. M. preissiana is a tall shrub 
or tree with small white flowers in 2-inch 
spikes. M. acuminata is a shrub or small 
tree with yellow bottlebrush flowers. Of 
M. lilacinus I find no record; this may be 
Callistemon lilacinus, a red-flowered_ bot- 
tlebrush from Gosford, near Sydney. The 
Pink Mevaveuca (M. nesophila) is a tree 
to 35 feet with thick, spongy bark and 
pink or rose-colored flowers in dense 
heads which are round, rather than bottle- 
brush-like as in most of the other Mela- 
leucas. In California this rapid-growing 
“SNOW IN SUMMER” 
iMalaleceet ainarifolig) IN MELBOURNE BOTANIC GARDEN 
