''Melaleuca styphelioides'', known as the prickly-leaved paperbark or prickly paperbark, is a plant native to eastern

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 tree with spongy bark, prickly leaves and spikes of creamy-white flowers.

Description

It is a small to medium-sized tree up to high with a dense, rounded canopy and drooping branchlets. The spongy bark is white or light brown and peels off in large strips. The leaves are

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

, long and wide. They are slightly twisted, have sharply-pointed tips, are arranged alternately on the branchlets and have between 15 and 30 veins. Flowers appear in summer in cream or white cylindrical "bottlebrush" spikes which are long and in diameter. Often new growth appears at the end of the spikes. Following flowering, grey-brown, woody capsules appear in clusters along the branchlets. These are ovoid, stalkless and in diameter Melaleuca styphelioides habit

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described in 1797 by botanist

James Edward Smith James Edward Smith may refer to: * James Edward Smith (botanist), English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society * James Edward Smith (murderer), American murderer * James Edward Smith (politician), Canadian businessman and mayor of Toronto * ...

in '' Transactions of the Linnean Society of London'' from plant material collected by David Burton near

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

. 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 ...

(''styphelioides'') refers to the similarity of the leaves of this species with those of a plant in the genus ''

Styphelia ''Styphelia'' is a genus of shrubs in the family Ericaceae, native from Mainland Southeast Asia, Indo-China through the Pacific to Australia. Most have minute or small leaves with a sharp tip, single, tube-shaped flowers arranged in leaf wikt:a ...

'' in the

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 ...

Ericaceae.

Distribution and habitat

The species occurs along stream banks or other moist situations, mostly in coastal areas from Nowra in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and northwards in to

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_ ...

Use in horticulture

This melaleuca 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 Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, with good examples in Campsie, an inner southwestern suburb, and also along numerous streets in various suburbs of Greater

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Gallery

Image:Melaleuca styphelioides.jpg, Cultivated specimen in

Image:Melaleuca styphelioides fruit.jpg, ''Melaleuca styphelioides'' fruit

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6811101 Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland styphelioides Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1797