Melaleuca
The Wyong paperbark (Melaleuca biconvexa) reproduces mainly as suckers which come up around the parent tree, as shown opposite. By surrounding itself with suckers, an isolated tree in wetland progressively becomes a grove.
Seed can be collected by laying mature branches on newspaper in a dry place. However, only a fraction of the seed collected in this way is fertile, and it has to be sown more thickly than is usual for paperbark seed to get prolific germination.
This paperbark grows well in the backswamps of Ourimbah Creek, but several stands have been invaded by rainforest species, especially red ash, cabbage tree palm and several lianas. These shade out the paperbark, which then dies. However, it is able to hold its own in the less fertile wetland areas where the rainforest species remain stunted.
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