Plants
Other Shrubs
Sighting 4594425

Melastoma affine

Blue Tongue at Durack, WA

Melastoma affine at Durack, WA - 18 Sep 2024 10:08 AM
Melastoma affine at Durack, WA - 18 Sep 2024 10:08 AM
Melastoma affine at Durack, WA - 18 Sep 2024 10:08 AM
Melastoma affine at Durack, WA - 18 Sep 2024 10:08 AM
Melastoma affine at Durack, WA - 18 Sep 2024 10:08 AM
Melastoma affine at Durack, WA - 18 Sep 2024 10:08 AM
Request use of media

Identification history

Melastoma affine 26 Jun 2025 MichaelMulvaney
Unverified 18 Sep 2024 Mike

Identify this sighting

Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.

7 comments

JasonPStewartNMsnc2016 wrote:
   26 Jun 2025
@MichaelMulvaney . Good morning !

Aren't _Melastoma malabathricum_ and _Melastoma affine_ synonyms of the one real life species ?
As far as I know.
And I have just re-checked in APNI (which has some complications of this taxon concept, from different states' points of views of names, eg. NT and Qld.) .
MichaelMulvaney wrote:
   26 Jun 2025
Yes they are synonyms - but I was unsure what the status of Melastoma malabathricum subsp. malabathricum was which is the name we have in our system and which ALA says was unreviewed so I thought I would leave and create Melastoma affine for this Kimberley record - and to resolve naming once it was a bit clearer
JasonPStewartNMsnc2016 wrote:
   26 Jun 2025
Yeah better to choose one name or the other, than confuse everybody with two names for the same real life species IMHO.

IMHO I choose:
_Melastoma malabathricum_ subsp. _malabathricum_
as in my reading the Qld and NT floras' informations have this taxon concept's names more up to date than at the moment APNI has (for this taxon concept's names).

APNI in general Au-wide has really up to date information, with some small minority of exceptions such this taxon concept and its names.
Way more up to date Au–wide than any global plants list's information about Au plants' taxa.

Hence i choose to keep _Melastoma affine_ as a synonym of _Melastoma malabathricum_ subsp. _malabathricum_ as the current name .
JasonPStewartNMsnc2016 wrote:
   26 Jun 2025
For example Qld WildNet search results' information listing:
https://wildnet.science-data.qld.gov.au/species-search?include_sighting_count=false&location_search_by=area&taxon_name=Melastoma&advanced=false&tab=0
.
JasonPStewartNMsnc2016 wrote:
   26 Jun 2025
For example Northern Territory Flora online:
https://eflora.nt.gov.au/browse?heading=browseNTFlora&viewLevel=all&exactMatches&family=MELASTOMATACEAE&genus=Melastoma
.
JasonPStewartNMsnc2016 wrote:
   26 Jun 2025
Anthony Bean (Qld senior botanist) via KeyBase :
https://keybase.rbg.vic.gov.au/keys/show/6301
https://keybase.rbg.vic.gov.au/keys/show/13117
.
JasonPStewartNMsnc2016 wrote:
   26 Jun 2025
Senior botanist Trevor Whiffin in 1990 in the Flora of Au vol. 18 page 248, wrote:
"
A very variable species, even within Australia.
Variation can be seen in the size, shape and density of the scales on the hypanthium, the size and shape of the calyx lobes and of the floral bracts, and the size and general pubescence of the leaves.

Some of these characters are used to distinguish species within the genus.

_Melastoma malabathricum_ is generally distinguished by the large floral bracts.
Despite the variation within _M. affine_, it does remain distinct from _M. malabathricum_.

Some plants within Australia, which have their hypanthium densely covered with slightly longer scales, approach _M. lanuginosum_ Blume, but appear to remain distinct.

A thorough revision of these and other related species throughout their range is needed to fully settle the species limits.
".
→ https://www.dcceew.gov.au/science-research/abrs/publications/flora-of-australia/vol18
.

My reading of all this information suggests too, that Trevor Whiffin's then 1990 point of view may have become out of date.

I may still lack further information on this topic hence incorrect in my point of view.

Indeed as Trevor Whiffin wrote in 1990 and does remain so correct on this point, I share in my own humble point of view:

we all require the information of a thorough revision of these plants' taxa throughout each of their respective global ranges .

Please Login or Register to comment.

Location information

Sighting information

Species information

  • Melastoma affine Scientific name
  • Blue Tongue Common name
  • Not Sensitive
  • Local native
  • Non-invasive or negligible
  • 186.75m Recorded at altitude
  • Machine learning

Record quality

  • Images or audio
  • More than one media file
  • Verified by an expert moderator
  • Nearby sighting(s) of same species
  • GPS evidence of location
  • Description
  • Additional attributes
829,473 sightings of 22,836 species from 14,345 members
CCA 3.0 | privacy
NatureMapr is developed by at3am IT Pty Ltd and is proudly Australian made