bio.wikisort.org - Plant

Melochia umbellata is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. Its specific epithet comes from the Latin umbellatus (umbel-like), referring to the inflorescence.[2]

Melochia umbellata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Malvaceae
Genus:	Melochia
Species:	M. umbellata
Binomial name
Melochia umbellata (Houtt.) Stapf
Synonyms
Visenia indica C.C.Gimelin Visenia umbellata Houtt. Melochia indica (Gmel.) Kurz.[1]

Description

Melochia umbellata is a shrub or small tree, growing to 2–15 m in height. It grows rapidly and is able to colonise disturbed land.[3] It has large, broadly ovate, leaves 90–300 mm long. The flowers are usually pale pink to red. The seeds are winged and wind-dispersed.[3]

Distribution and habitat

The plant is native to a region extending from India eastwards through Southeast Asia to north-western Australia and New Guinea. It occurs in secondary vegetation and forest clearings, on rocky slopes and along the edges of rivers and forests, often in seasonally dry soil.[2]

It has been introduced elsewhere and is cultivated widely to provide shade for young trees in timber and coffee plantations. Melochia is relished by ruminants when offered as a cut-and-carry feed.[4] It has become an invasive weed on the Island of Hawaiʻi where it was extensively planted in the Hilo area during a 1920s reforestation program.[3]

References

Notes

Sources

• Starr, Forest; Starr, Kim; & Loope, Lloyd (March 2003). "Melochia umbellata" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
• "Melochia umbellata (Houtt.) Stapf". Flora of Australia Online. Australian Biological Resources Study. 1993. Retrieved 2010-12-01.

External links

Media related to Melochia umbellata at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Melochia umbellata at Wikispecies

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