Tea Tree

Excellent screening plant and windbreak for coastal or exposed sites. Creates informal hedging and provides year-round structure with distinctive papery bark texture. Works well in naturalistic gardens, wetland edges, or as a specimen tree showcasing its characteristic peeling bark.

Tea tree oil (from Melaleuca alternifolia) is a powerful antiseptic and antifungal treatment for skin conditions, acne, wounds, and fungal infections. Traditional Aboriginal medicine uses crushed leaves as poultices. Essential oil must be diluted before skin application and never taken internally.

Leaves traditionally used by Aboriginal Australians to flavor cooking when wrapped around food. Some species make a pleasant bush tea substitute. The essential oil is NOT for culinary use but leaves can infuse subtle medicinal flavors in steaming or smoking foods.

Provides nectar for native birds, bees, and butterflies. Dense growth offers nesting sites and shelter for small birds. Thrives in wet soils, helping with erosion control and water filtration. Some species can be invasive in wetlands outside native range.

Multi-trunked shrub or small tree with distinctive papery, peeling bark in layers. Narrow, alternate leaves are aromatic when crushed. Small white, cream, or pink bottlebrush-like flowers in spring/summer. Woody seed capsules persist on branches. Melaleuca genus contains 300+ species.

Hard, durable timber resistant to termites and decay, historically used for fence posts, wharf pilings, and boat building. Smaller dimensions limit use to craft work, tool handles, and specialty items. Bark traditionally used for roofing, bedding, and wrapping materials by Aboriginal peoples.

Captain Cook's crew brewed the leaves as tea in 1770, giving it its common name. During WWII, Australian soldiers carried tea tree oil in first-aid kits. The tree can tolerate fire, regenerating from lignotubers. Some species produce allelopathic chemicals that suppress other plants.