''Melaleuca linariifolia'' is a plant in the myrtle

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...

, and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is commonly known as snow-in-summer, narrow-leaved paperbark, flax-leaved paperbark and in the language of the

Gadigal The Gadigal, also spelled as Cadigal and Caddiegal, are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands are located in Gadi, on Eora country, the location of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. However, since the colonisation of Australia ...

people as ''budjur''. A hardy plant, it flowers prolifically in late spring or summer, making it a popular garden shrub or small tree in temperate places. ''Melaleuca trichostachya'' is a similar species but its leaves are arranged differently and the fruits have projecting

valves A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings, ...

Description

''Melaleuca linariifolia'' is a small tree growing to a height of with distinctive and attractive white or creamy white, papery bark and a dense canopy. Its leaves are arranged in alternating pairs (

decussate Decussation is used in biological contexts to describe a crossing (due to the shape of the Roman numeral for ten, an uppercase 'X' (), ). In Latin anatomical terms, the form is used, e.g. . Similarly, the anatomical term chiasma is named aft ...

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

except when very young, long, wide, linear to lance-shaped and with a distinct mid-vein. The flowers are white to creamy-white, perfumed and arranged in spikes on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering, sometimes also in the upper leaf axils. Each spike is up to wide and long and contains 4 to 20 individual flowers. The petals are long and fall off as the flower matures. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower and each bundle contains 32 to 73 stamens. The flowers cover the tree over a relatively short period, between October and February and are followed by fruit which are woody capsules, long and long scattered along the stems. The fruiting capsules have

valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or Slurry, slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically Pip ...

s which do not project beyond the rim of the capsule.

Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca linariifolia'' was first formally described in 1797 by James Edward Smith in ''

Transactions of the Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...

''. Smith noted that "This, we are told by Mr White, is a large tree, the bark of which is very thick and spongy, serving the purpose of tinder." The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''linariifolia'' means "with leaves like ''

Linaria ''Linaria'' is a genus of almost 200 species of flowering plants, one of several related groups commonly called toadflax. They are annuals and herbaceous perennials, and the largest genus in the Antirrhineae tribe of the plantain family Plant ...

''" (a genus of plants in the family

Plantaginaceae Plantaginaceae, the plantain family or veronica family, is a large, diverse family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that includes common flowers such as Antirrhinum, snapdragon and Digitalis, foxglove. It is unrelated ...

Distribution

Snow-in-summer occurs from the Maryborough district in Queensland to

Bawley Point Bawley Point is a small coastal hamlet in New South Wales, Australia, in the Shoalhaven with a population of 698 people at the . It is located 30 minutes south of Ulladulla, New South Wales, and 30 minutes north of Batemans Bay on the South Coa ...

in the

Ulladulla Ulladulla () is a coastal town in New South Wales, Australia in the City of Shoalhaven local government area. It is on the Princes Highway about south of Sydney, halfway between Batemans Bay to the south and Nowra to the north. Ulladulla has cl ...

district in New South Wales. There is also a disjunct population in the

Blackdown Tableland National Park Blackdown Tableland is a national park in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. Geography The park is in Central Queensland, northwest of Brisbane. The mountainous terrain of the tablelands provides a unique landscape featuring ...

in Queensland. It is found in

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

and dry sclerophyll forest

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s, usually growing near watercourses or swamps.

Uses

Horticulture

''Melaleuca linariifolia'' is cultivated as an

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

for parks and

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s and is also used as a screen or windbreak in Australia and overseas. It is popular as a nature strip tree in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. It tolerates both dry and boggy conditions and is frost hardy. It should be planted with caution as it can damage wastewater pipes, and is easily ignitable, so should not be planted in fire-prone areas. It has also become a garden escape in Western Australia, it is however suitable for planting under powerlines and is a food or habitat sources for native animals, including many insects. There is a range of cultivars including dwarf forms such as 'Snowstorm' which grows to a height of , 'Seafoam' at , and 'Claret Tops' at , which features red coloured new growth.''Melaleuca linariifolia'' 'Claret Tops'
Botanic Gardens of South Australia. Retrieved 16 February 2020

Essential oils

This species is rich in essential oils, especially

Terpinen-4-ol Terpinen-4-ol is an isomer of terpineol with the chemical formula C10H18O. A primary constituent of tea tree oil, it is obtained as an extract from the leaves, branches, and bark of '' Melaleuca alternifolia'' Cheel. Despite considerable basic and ...

. It has a wider range of tolerance to environmental conditions than the main current source of "tea tree" oil, ''

Melaleuca alternifolia ''Melaleuca alternifolia'', commonly known as tea tree, is a species of tree or tall shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Endemic to Australia, it occurs in southeast Queensland and the north coast and adjacent ranges of New South Wales where ...

'' and therefore has potential as an alternative.

Gallery

File:Melaleuca tree.jpg, Specimen in

Mount Archer National Park Mount Archer National Park is a national park in Central Queensland, Australia, northwest of Brisbane. It makes up the backdrop to the city of Rockhampton which marks the start of Tropical Queensland. It comprises of open forests and woodland ...

File:Melaleuca linariifolia bark.jpg, Bark File:Melaleucalinariifolia.jpg, Flowers closeup File:Melaleuca_linariifolia_3.jpg, Tree blooming File:J20150602-0025—Melaleuca linariifolia—Albany (17846363604).jpg, Flowers emerging File:Melaleuca linariifolia - Jardín Botánico de Barcelona - Barcelona, Spain - DSC09009.JPG, In autumn File:Melaleuca linariifolia - McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens - DSC03011.JPG, A young specimen File:Melaleuca linariifolia 2c.JPG, Its narrow, spiky leaves. File:Paperbark individual flowers detail.jpg, Separate florets removed from the inflorescence, showing long stamens

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2709936 linariifolia Trees of Australia Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Garden plants of Australia Drought-tolerant trees Plants described in 1797 Taxa named by Lyndley Craven