Metrosideros operculata
Encyclopedia
Metrosideros operculata is a species of flowering plant
in the family Myrtaceae
. It is endemic to New Caledonia
. It usually grows as a shrub to 3 metres in height, or rarely as a small tree to 10 metres. Stems are square in section and covered with silky hairs. The stiff, pointed leaves have a slightly revolute margin and are linear to elliptic in shape. They are 12 to 40 mm long and 3 to 10 mm wide. White, pink or red flowers with 3 petals and between 50 and 120 stamens are produced in axillary inflorescences.
Two varieties are currently recognised:
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the family Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae
The Myrtaceae or Myrtle family are a family of dicotyledon plants, placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, clove, guava, feijoa, allspice, and eucalyptus belong here. All species are woody, with essential oils, and flower parts in multiples of four or five...
. It is endemic to New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. It usually grows as a shrub to 3 metres in height, or rarely as a small tree to 10 metres. Stems are square in section and covered with silky hairs. The stiff, pointed leaves have a slightly revolute margin and are linear to elliptic in shape. They are 12 to 40 mm long and 3 to 10 mm wide. White, pink or red flowers with 3 petals and between 50 and 120 stamens are produced in axillary inflorescences.
Two varieties are currently recognised:
- M. operculata var. francii J.W. Dawson
- M. operculata Labill. var. operculata