Melastoma malabathricumMalabar Melastome

The Melastoma malabathricum, or Malabar Melastome, is a fast bushy shrub of the Asian tropics, easily recognised by leaves with three bold veins running the length of the blade and by open five-petalled flowers in a strong mauve-purple with contrasting yellow and purple stamens.

It colonises poor, disturbed and acidic ground that defeats most ornamentals, which makes it a genuinely useful plant for rehabilitation planting and for embankments where nothing has been built into the soil.

Specifications

• Height1 to 3 metres
• Width1 to 2 metres
• Native toSouth and Southeast Asia, southern China, and the Pacific through to northern Australia
• FoliageOpposite, bristly, lance-shaped leaves with three prominent longitudinal veins; evergreen
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilPrefers acidic, free-draining soils and thrives on poor, disturbed and lateritic ground
• LightFull sun to partial shade
• WaterModerate; regular through establishment
• ClimateThrives in tropical and humid subtropical regions

Additional Features

• FlowersOpen five-petalled mauve-purple flowers with contrasting yellow and purple stamens, carried near continuously
• FruitFleshy purple-black berries that split to reveal deep purple pulp
• UsesIdeal for informal mass planting, embankment and rehabilitation work, and wildlife borders
• SpacingPlant 1 to 1.5 metres apart for a continuous mass
• Low MaintenancePrune hard after flowering to keep the bush compact; it recovers quickly
• Pest ResistanceGenerally trouble-free
• Wildlife AttractionFlowers draw bees and the fruit is taken readily by birds
• Erosion ControlEstablishes on raw cut banks and binds loose disturbed soil

Malabar Melastome puts flowering cover onto poor acid ground where a conventional shrub scheme would simply fail.