Melastoma malabathricum
malabar melastome
Tropical Asia, the Pacific, and northern Australia
Overview
Melastoma malabathricum is an evergreen shrub in the family Melastomataceae, growing 3-10 feet (1-3 m) tall and 3-8 feet (1-2.5 m) wide, with a bushy, much-branched form and bristly young stems. The leaves are opposite, lance-shaped to oval, 2-5 inches (5-13 cm) long, with three to five prominent veins running lengthwise and a rough, hairy surface on both sides. Flowers 1.5-3 inches (4-7 cm) across open mauve to purple-pink with five broad petals and a cluster of curved yellow and purple stamens, appearing through much of the warm season. The flowers are followed by fleshy capsules about 0.4-0.6 inch (1-1.5 cm) wide that split to reveal soft dark-purple pulp and many small seeds, staining the mouth and fingers. Growth is fast, and plants flower within a year or two from seed. The species spreads readily by seed and is treated as a weed in some regions outside its native range.
Native Range
Native to tropical and subtropical Asia, the Pacific, and northern Australia, from India and southern China to Southeast Asia and Queensland. It grows in open, disturbed, and damp sites including forest margins, roadsides, stream banks, and cleared land on acidic soils.Suggested Uses
Used in tropical and subtropical gardens as an informal flowering shrub, screen, or bank cover, spaced 4-6 feet (1.2-1.8 m) apart. It suits low-maintenance and revegetation plantings on acidic soils. Its self-seeding habit makes it unsuited to areas where it is listed as a weed.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height3' - 10'
Width/Spread3' - 8'
Reaches mature size in approximately 2 years
Bloom Information
Flowers through much of the warm season, mainly spring to autumn (September to May) in subtropical areas and year-round in the wet tropics. Individual flowers last about a day, but the shrub flowers continuously in flushes. Fleshy fruits ripen a few weeks after each flush.
Detailed Descriptions
Flower Description
mauve to purple-pinkFoliage Description
greenGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 5-9 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight
Care & Maintenance
Care Guide
Grows in full sun to part shade on moist, acidic soils, from sandy to clay loams, with the heaviest flowering in sun. Regular water suits it in dry spells, and growth and flowering slow during drought. It tolerates poor and disturbed soils but does poorly in alkaline or very dry ground. Light pruning keeps the bushy form compact and removes the bristly older wood. The species self-seeds freely and spreads into surrounding ground, so it is restricted in some areas as a weed. Few pests trouble it, and it needs little feeding on average soils.Pruning
Light pruning after a flush keeps the shrub dense and within size, and harder cutting back in late winter renews leggy, woody plants. The shrub reshoots strongly from older wood and from the base. Removing spent fruit before seeds ripen reduces unwanted self-seeding.Pruning Schedule
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
winter
Container Growing
✓ Suitable for container growing
Minimum container size: 7 gallons