Blue tongue or Native Lasiandra Melastoma malabathricum subsp. malabathricum is a common shrub in the Noosa shire. The plant grows well on K’gari ( Fraser Island ). Some of the inland roads are lined with Blue tongue and it’s a beautiful site when they are flowering. It grows well in most ecosystems but prefers a sunny position. I have found they can be quite fussy about water requirements. A little bit too much or too little and they will die. However over the past year they have been looking very healthy and flowering well.
Its common to confuse Melastoma malabathricum with the Asian Melastoma and that’s covered in the links below. Some Noosa estates have been planted out with Asian Melastomas and they have moved into the surrounding bushland and become weedy.
Its also common to confuse Tibouchina and Melastomas. The flower and leave shapes are similar. So much so that I couldn’t be 100% sure of the photos I had for this article so I didn’t use them. Tibouchina grow much bigger, but there are small varieties, and have a rectangle shaped stem, where Melastomas stems are round. The best place to observe this is in new growth. Tibouchinas are not native and while they don’t often become weedy in the bush, consider using Melastomas. Growing to around 2m and feeding bees, other insects and birds, they are a very attractive addition to an urban garden. More information can be found in Noosa’s Native Plants book 4th edtion pg 189.
Are you planting a native Melastoma or an invasive weed? (sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au)
Native Blue Tongue vs Exotic Asian Melastome – Land for Wildlife (lfwseq.org.au)
By Michelle Newall
