Common name: Honey Flower
Melianthus major L. APNI* Description: Shrub to 3 m high, glaucous, almost glabrous.
Leaves to 35 cm long; leaflets 9–13, lanceolate, toothed, 4–12 cm long; stipules fused into a lanceolate structure above petiole base, 5–8 cm long.
Racemes usually 30–40 cm long; pedicels and bracts 10–20 mm long. Flowers red- or deep purple-brown. Sepals usually 10–25 mm long. Petals clawed, shorter than sepals.
Capsule 30–40 mm long, deeply 4-lobed, inflated, papery; seeds 2 per loculus.
Flowering: August–November
Distribution and occurrence: Cultivated as an ornamental, sometimes naturalized in the Sydney region. Native of southern Afr.
NSW subdivisions: *CC, *LHI
Other Australian states: *Qld *S.A.
Text by S. M. Hastings
Taxon concept: P.S. Green (1994)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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