Melastoma Flowers

Melastmalabathricumicum, known also as Malabar melastome, Indian rhododendron and Singapore rhododendron is a flowering plant in the family Melastomataceae wich has about 50-70 species distributed around Southeast Asia, India, north to Japan, south to Australia and the Pacific Islands.
It is undergoing taxonomic revision and the number of species will probably be reduced according to Wagner et al. 1999. Many species have been planted around the world for the aesthetic value of their bright purple flowers. Several have the capacity to become weedy, and have become noxious weeds in Hawaii and other areas.

It is present in Indonesia, Japan, Brunei,Burma, Cambodia, Laos, India, Malaysia,Nepal, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. It is usually found between 100 and 2,800 m on grasslands and sparse forests. It has been declared a noxious weed in the United States.

This plant has been used as a medicinal plantin certain parts of the world.

Melastoma malabathricum is a known hyperaccumulator of aluminium, and as such can be used for phytoremediation.


The taxonomy of the genus Melastomarequires a complete revision. Early genetics studies were published from 2001, through to recently, but a revision based on them has yet to be. In 2001 Karsten Meyer proposed a revision in which the species Melastoma affine and other species were subsumed within this species M. malabathricum.

In Australia, currently most authorities do not accept this; instead the naturally occurring populations in Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and north eastern New South Wales remain recognised as M. affine, except by authorities in Queensland.
Australian populations which occur as weeds, having different flowers, for example in Warraroon Reserve,Lane Cove, Sydney, further south than the natural distribution of M. affine, are introduced plants of this M. malabathricum L.species.