''Melaleuca argentea'', commonly known as the silver cadjeput, silver-leaved paperbark, silver cajuput, or mardderr in the

Kunwinjku The Kunwinjku (formerly written Gunwinggu) people are an Australian Aboriginal people, one of several groups within the Bininj people, who live around West Arnhem Land to the east of Darwin, Northern Territory. Kunwinjku people generally refer t ...

language, is a plant in the myrtle

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 speci ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is a common tree along river banks or around swamps in the tropics. It has papery bark and weeping foliage and has been the subject of important scientific research.

Description

''Melaleuca argentea'' is a tree usually to but sometimes to . The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches and are elliptic, straight or sickle-shaped, long, about wide and have 5 to 9 longitudinal veins. Mature leaves are pale, silvery green and the young growth is soft, silvery and covered with silky soft hairs. The leaves are aromatic when crushed. The flowers are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering, sometimes also in the upper leaf axils. The spikes contain 5 to 20 groups of flowers in threes and are up to in diameter. The petals are about long and fall off as the flower ages. The

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s are in 5 bundles around the flower with 7 to 9 stamens per bundle. Flowering occurs in most months of the year and is followed by fruit which are woody, cup-shaped to cylindrical capsules, in diameter and loosely spaced along the branches.

Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca argentea'' was first formally described in 1918 by William Fitzgerald in "Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Western Australia" from specimens he collected from the " Isdell, Charnley,

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

Ord Ord or ORD may refer to: Places * Ord of Caithness, landform in north-east Scotland * Ord, Nebraska, USA * Ord, Northumberland, England * Muir of Ord, village in Highland, Scotland * Ord, Skye, a place near Tarskavaig * Ord River, Western Austral ...

, Denham Rivers, etc." The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''argentea'') is from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''argenteus'', meaning "silvery". ''Melaleuca argentea'' is known as mardderr in the

language and kumardderr, (the

Goomadeer River The Goomadeer River is a river in the Northern Territory, Australia. Etymology The name comes from the Kunwinjku ''Kumardderr'', which is the name of an area that the river flows through. The name means literally 'at the silver-leaved paperbark ...

) means "at the silver-leaved paperbark" and takes its name from this tree.

Distribution and habitat

Silver cajuput occurs in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

district of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, the

Top End The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ra ...

of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

and north

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. Forests of ''M. argentea'' occur along swampy drainage lines in similar niches to ''

Melaleuca quinquenervia ''Melaleuca quinquenervia'', commonly known as the broad-leaved paperbark, paper bark tea tree, punk tree or niaouli, is a small- to medium-sized tree of the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. It grows as a spreading tree up to tall, with its trunk cov ...

'' which they displace in the far northern coastal portions of the wet tropics bioregion.

Ecology

The life span of this species has been determined to be greater than 20 years. It first forms seeds at the age of 6–10 years and recovers from fire by regrowing from a

lignotuber A lignotuber is a woody swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire. Other woody plants may develop basal burls as a similar survival strategy, often as a response t ...

Conservation status

''Melaleuca argentea'' is classified as "not threatened" in Western Australia by the

Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government o ...

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

Uses

Horticulture

This tree described as a "handsome, weeping, silver-leaved tree" is suitable for tropical and sub-tropical areas. It is used as an ornamental tree in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Scientific research

Research has been undertaken to determine the water use characteristics of ''Melaleuca argentea'' in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

region of Western Australia so that its response to changes in water levels over time can be predicted. Daily and seasonal water use patterns of this species have also been determined. The information is important because vegetation along riverbanks protects water quality, regulating stream temperature (through shading), water turbidity and river bank stability. Riparian communities are important wildlife corridors and often have higher biodiversity than surrounding ecosystems.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15370144 argentea Myrtales of Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Queensland Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1918 Taxa named by William Vincent Fitzgerald