Melaleuca styphelioides 

Location & distribution maps

Plant  information

Common name:         Prickly Paperbark

• Prickly-leaved Paperbark 

Conservation status: ...

Etymology:   

• Melaleuca is derived from the Ancient Greek μέλας (mélas) meaning "dark" or "black" and λευκός (leukós) meaning "white"

• The specific epithet (styphelioides) refers to the similarity of the leaves of this species with those of a plant in the genus Styphelia in the family Ericaceae

Flowers

• They appear in summer in cream or white cylindrical "bottlebrush" spikes 

• They are 2 to 5 cm long and 1 to 2 cm in diameter

• Often new growth appears at the end of the spikes

Fruit:                            

• Following flowering, grey-brown, woody capsules appear in clusters along the branchlets

• These are ovoid, stalkless and 3 to 4 mm in diameter 

Leaves:         

• The leaves are sessile, 7–15 mm long and 2.5–6 mm wide

• They are slightly twisted, have sharply-pointed tips

• They are arranged alternately on the branchlets and have between 15 and 30 veins

Stem & branches: 

• The spongy bark is white or light brown and peels off in large strips

Roots:         

Habit:        

• It is a small to medium-sized tree up to 20 m high with a dense, rounded canopy and drooping branchlets

Habitat:   

• Occurs along stream banks or other moist situations, mostly in coastal area

Distribution:                  

• Native to eastern Australia

• From Nowra in NSW and northwards in to Queensland

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy

  • The species was first formally described in 1797 by botanist James Edward Smith in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 

  • This was from plant material collected by David Burton near Port Jackson

• Use in horticulture

  • It thrives in a variety of situations ranging from swampy to hot and dry, and due to its deep-rooting characteristics lawn can be grown under its canopy

  • It is used as a street tree in Sydney, with good examples in Campsie, an inner southwestern suburb, and also along numerous streets in various suburbs of Greater Melbourne

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melaleuca_styphelioides (2023)