AusBonsai

OK, so I know on Bonsaeen's 'Natural Native' comp entry there was a bit of speculation about whether or not the tree concerned was in fact Melaleuca Lanceolata or something else. Rather than continue to hijack his comp entry thread I thought I would start a new thread because, like I was saying, I had also picked up stock (from a different place), as had Pat3222 and some of ours looked similar to what Bonsaeen had posted, and some different!! I said I would post pics of mine - so here they are... So, what does all this mean?? ... I have no idea! It's just interesting to me that there can be such a marked visual difference. I did have a look at the links posted by treeman in the other thread and I see how there could be doubt over them being Moonah, but the second link does say "Leaves alternate, linear to narrowly lanceolate or narrowly oblanceolate, 5–15 mm long, 1–3 mm wide, tip acute, often bent downwards..." so maybe these plants are just at either end of the natural variation spectrum?? (I have reposted the links below for those interested)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_ ... morphology
https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/t ... 6782e2e3bb

I guess I'll just grow on for a bit and see what happens ... in the end I thought they had good attributes for bonsai when I saw them : small leaf size, reasonably bendy trunks and lots of budding, so whatever they are there is a chance they'll end up as an entry in the Natural Native comp, they're definitely native!! ( )

They could be all forms of lanceolata. Don't know, but what I do know is that I'm surprised at how much slower they are compared to say raphiophylla or styphelioides!

In the meantime, here's a nice specimen to contemplate....

treeman wrote:They could be all forms of lanceolata. Don't know, but what I do know is that I'm surprised at how much slower they are compared to say raphiophylla or styphelioides!

It’s like your reading my mind! I’m on the hunt Treeman and these are both top priorities, also would add linariifolia in there but I haven’t had much luck finding anything terribly interesting along with the likes of alternifolia and cuticularis but no idea where to get these here or if they would suit this comp. I love the papery bark on all these species but the timeline is pretty tight to get that to develop in the comp timeframe. I definitely want to enter at least one Mel however ... in the meantime I’m collecting some seed from here and there for more long term projects... it’s a long game bonsai!

A great many plants have different juvenile foliage and adult leaves. It is quite normal for young seedlings to have broader leaves and gradually change to the typical adult foliage over months or sometimes a number of years. This appears to be shown in photo 4 and may explain some of the differences.
M. lanceolata is also a widespread species and has probably developed a range of slightly different forms over different locations.