Melaleuca leucadendra
| Weeping paperbark | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Melaleuca |
| Species: | M. leucadendra
|
| Binomial name | |
| Melaleuca leucadendra | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
List
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Melaleuca leucadendra,commonly known asweeping paperbark,long-leaved paperbarkorwhite paperbarkis a species of woody plant in themyrtlefamilyMyrtaceae,and is widespread in northern Australia,Southeast Asia,New Guineaand theTorres StraitIslands. It grows as a tree to more than 20 m (70 ft) with a trunk covered with thick, white, papery bark and weeping thinner branches. It has a long flowering season, can flower at almost any time of the year and is often grown as a tree in parks and on roadsides. It was the first melaleuca to be described and was described from a specimen growing in Indonesia.
Description
[edit]Melaleuca leucadendrais a large tree, usually less than, but sometimes more than 20 m (70 ft) tall. Its thick bark is papery, usually white but also pinkish or cream and it has weeping branches. Its leaves and young branches are covered with fine, short, white hairs when young but becomeglabrousas they mature. The leaves are arranged alternately, 75–270 mm (3–10 in) long, 6.5–40 mm (0.3–2 in) wide, flat, narrow egg-shaped or lance-shaped and tapering to a point. The leaves have 5 (sometimes as many as 9) longitudinal veins and are often curved or sickle-shaped.[2][3][4]
The flowers are cream, white or greenish-white and are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering, sometimes on the sides of branches or in the upper leaf axils. Each spike is up to 35 mm (1 in) in diameter, up to 80 mm (3 in) long and contains between 7 and 22 groups of flowers in threes. The petals are 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide and fall off soon after the flower opens. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower and each bundle contains 5 to 12 stamens. Flowering can occur at any time of the year and is followed by fruit which are woodycapsules,3.9–4.9 mm (0.15–0.19 in) long in loose clusters along the stems.[2][3][4]
Taxonomy and naming
[edit]Melaleuca leucadendrawas first formally described in 1762 byCarl LinnaeusinSpecies PlantarumasMyrtus leucadendra.[5][6]Linnaeus used a description of the species written byGeorg Eberhard Rumphiusin 1741, before the modern system of classification was devised by Linnaeus. Rumphius had described a plant growing in what is now Indonesia. Later, Linnaeus realised that this species had little in common with other species in thegenusMyrtusand described the genusMelaleucato accommodate this species.[7]Thus,Melaleuca leucadendrabecame the first melaleuca to be formally described. The description was published in 1767 inMantissa plantarum.[8][9]It follows that although nearly all melaeucas are found only in Australia, the firsttype specimenwas from Indonesia.
Thespecific epithet(leucadendra) is derived from theAncient Greekwordsλευκός(leukós)meaning “white”[10]: 856 andδένδρον(déndron)meaning “tree”[10]: 813 referring to the white bark of this plant.[2]
Melaleuca leucadendrais superficially similar to other paperbark trees, especiallyMelaleuca cajuputi,Melaleuca quinquenervia,Melaleuca linariifoliaandMelaleuca viridifloraand all are sometimes referred to ascajuputorcajeput.Cajuputis anEnglishword forthe oilobtained from the foliage ofMelaleuca cajuputiand the word is possibly a corruption ofkayu putih,the Indonesian name for the tree.[11]TheMalayname for the paperbark tree isgelam[12]and may have given its name to theKampong Glamdistrict in Singapore.[13]
Distribution and habitat
[edit]This melaleuca is widely distributed in northern parts ofWestern Australia,theNorthern Territoryand inQueenslandas far south asShoalwater Bay.It also occurs inNew Guineaand Indonesia.[2]It grows in forests near the edges of rivers and streams on a range of soils.
Uses
[edit]Traditional uses
[edit]Aboriginal people used strips of bark from this tree and tied them to a frame ofDodonaeabranches to build huts that were waterproof. The bark was used to wrap food before cooking in an underground oven called akap mari.It was also used to wrap the bodies of their dead. The bark from trunks of very large trees was used to make bark canoes.[14]The crushed leaves were used to treat respiratory infections and the flowers for making a sweet drink.[4]
Horticulture
[edit]This species of melaleuca is often grown in parks and as a street tree in tropical and sub-tropical areas likeBrisbane[3]and as far south asSydney.[15]It prefers a sunny location but will tolerate poor, waterlogged soils.[16]It has also been used as a street tree in Hong Kong.[17]
Essential oils
[edit]A range of essential oils can be distilled from this species, depending on where the trees occur. Two of the most common chemotypes are based onmethyl eugenoland E-methyl isoeugenol.[2]
Timber
[edit]The timber fromM. leucadendracan be used for general construction. In Vietnam, it is used for poles, piles and woodchips.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ab"Melaleuca leucadendra".World Checklist of Selected Plant Families(WCSP).Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- ^abcdefBrophy, Joseph J.; Craven, Lyndley A.; Doran, John C. (2013).Melaleucas: their botany, essential oils and uses.Canberra: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. pp. 224–225.ISBN978-1-922137-51-7.
- ^abcHolliday, Ivan (2004).Melaleucas: a field and garden guide(2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. pp. 170–171.ISBN1-876334-98-3.
- ^abc"Melaleuca leucadendra".James Cook University.Retrieved25 January2018.
- ^Linnaeus, Carl (1762).Species Plantarum.Vol. 1 (2 ed.). p. 676.Retrieved13 May2015.
- ^"Myrtus leucadendra".APNI.Retrieved13 May2015.
- ^Brophy, Joseph J.; Craven, Lyndley A.; Doran, John C. (2013).Melaleucas: their botany, essential oils and uses(PDF).Canberra: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. p. 15.ISBN978-1-922137-52-4.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 28 May 2015.Retrieved13 May2015.
- ^Linnaeus, Carl (1767).Mantissa plantarum.p. 105.Retrieved13 May2015.
- ^"Melaleuca leucadendra".APNI.Retrieved13 May2015.
- ^abBrown, Roland Wilbur (1956).The Composition of Scientific Words.Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
- ^Brophy, Joseph J.; Craven, Lyndley A.; Doran, John C. (2013).Melaleucas: their botany, essential oils and uses(PDF).Canberra: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. p. 104.ISBN978-1-922137-52-4.Retrieved13 May2015.
- ^"Gelam or Kayu putih".Wild Singapore.Retrieved13 May2015.
- ^Keng, Hsuan (1990).The Concise Flora of Singapore: Gymnosperms and dicotyledons.Singapore: Singapore Univ. Press. p. 222.ISBN9971-69-135-3.
- ^Calvert, Greg."Bush tucker: White paperbark (Melaleuca leucadendra) ".Society for growing Australian plants, Queensland.Retrieved25 January2018.
- ^Wrigley, John W.; Fagg, Murray (1983).Australian native plants: a manual for their propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping(2nd ed.). Sydney: Collins. pp. 351–352.ISBN0-00-216575-9.
- ^"Melaleuca leucadendra"(PDF).Waverley Council.Retrieved13 May2015.
- ^Jim, C. Y. (1986)."Street trees in high-density urban Hong Kong".Journal of Arboriculture.12(10).International Society of Arboriculture:257–263.Retrieved12 August2012.
