Monday, December 19, 2005

Local Melaleuca species and tips for their identification
Leaves small. usually less than 3Omm X 3mm

M bracteata (River tea-tree, Black tea-tree) - bark hard, dark, fissured - along watercourses, on lowlying flats

M trichostachya (Snow-in summer, Flax-leaved tea-tree, River tea-tree) - bark papery - along
watercourses and drainage lines.

Leaves long and narrow looking., length/width ratio 5-14 : 1

M leucadendra (Weeping tea-tree, Butterscotch paperbark) - leaves pendulous, hairless, bright green,
juvenile and adult similar - along watercourses, around swamps, in coastal sand swales

M fluviatilis (A paperbark) - leaves often pendulous, juvenile leaves hairy, narrower than adult leaves – along watercourses.

Leaves broader looking; length/width ratio 2-7: 1

Juvenile leaves with straight. silky hairs.

M viridiflora (Broad-leaved paperbark) - small tree; leaves 5-7-veined, 6cm-22cm X 2cm-6cm poorly drained or seasonally inundated near coastal flats and wallum

M quinquenervia (Broad-leaved paperbark, Paperbark tea-tree, Coastal tea-tree) - small to large tree; leaves mostly 5-veined - along watercourses, bordering swamps and on frequently wet sites

Juvenile leaves with crisped. matted hairs. the covering felt-like

M. dealbata (A paperbark) - large coastal tree with blue-grey weeping foliage; stamens less than
10mm long - between consolidated dunes and ridges behind beaches

M nervosa (A paperbark) - shrub to small tree; leaves silvery when young; stamens to 20mm long - non-swampy flats and ridges.
Joel Plumb

No comments: