Everything about Melaleuca Quinquenervia totally explained
Melaleuca quinquenervia, commonly known as the
Broad-leaved paper bark or the
Paper Bark Tea Tree, is a tree of the
Myrtaceae family native to Australia,
New Guinea and
New Caledonia. It has become naturalised in the
Everglades in
Florida where it's considered a serious weed. It is used in Australia as a street tree and in amenities planting in parks and public spaces.
Taxonomy
Melaleuca quinquenervia was first described by the Spanish naturalist
Antonio José Cavanilles, with
Stanley Thatcher Blake of the
Queensland Herbarium later validating. The genus name is derived from the
Ancient Greek melanos 'black' and
leukos 'white' (this references the trunks of other plants of this species). The specific epithet is derived from the
Latin quinque 'five', and
nervus 'nerve' or 'vein' - referring to the leaves. It is commonly known as the Broad-leaved Paperbark, or simply Paperbark, in Australia, and as Punk Tree in the United States.
Distribution and habitat
It is usually found in
Wallum swampland in Australia, and can tolerate seasonal inundation and fires, and water logging. The plant is native to
Australia,
New Caledonia, and
Papua New Guinea. Its natural Australian distribution is coastal
New South Wales from Botany Bay northwards, into
Queensland and the
Northern Territory.
Ecology
The flowers serve as a rich source of
nectar for other organisms, including fruit bats, a wide range of insect and bird species, The
Grey-headed Flying Fox (
Pteropus poliocephalus) and
Little Red Flying-fox (
P. scapulatus) consume the flowers.
Invasive potential
Melaleuca is an abundant exotic invasive plant in the
Florida Everglades 7. Its unchecked expansion in South Florida is one of the most serious threats to the integrity of the native
ecosystem. This tree takes over
sawgrass marshes in the Everglades turning the area into a swamp
9.
Melaleuca causes severe ecological impacts, including displacing native species, modification of
hydrology, alteration of soil resources, reducing native habitat value and changing the fire regime.
An experiment comparing the quantity of seeds held in the canopies of
Melaleuca trees in Australia and Southern Florida found that the viability and amount of seeds found in Australia were lower when compared to those in Florida
6. Australian
Melaleuca trees held 5,000 seeds with less than 20 viable, and Florida Melaleucas contained 13,000 seeds, with greater than 1,200 viable
6. So without a predator reducing the amount of reproductive structures in
Melaleuca it can reproduce unchecked.
The release from natural enemies will cause the invasive exotic plant to evolve, improving its performance in the new area. This idea is supported by the results of a study on
Melaleuca done by Pratt et al. (2005) showing that damage by herbivores reduced success in the following season as the reproductive structures declined by 80% with 54% less fruits.
Melaleuca is known for its capability to withstand
floods and
droughts
7. If there's a canopy gap created by a flood or some other disturbance
Melaleuca will establish to make use of the extra light
9. In physically disturbed sites, flourishing invaders have high colonization abilities. This allows for faster growth, these results held up by many supporting studies have allowed Lake and Leishman to infer that invasive species are so successful because of their skill for fast growth, and greater capacity to capture and retain space.
Melaleuca has definitely been shown to have these traits, such as, in the Everglades the
Melaleuca population has increased 50-fold during the last 25 years.
[ Unfortunately, it has become an invasive weed in Florida where it was introduced to drain swamps.]
The bark was used to make containers for cooking, as well as shelter, by local aborigines.[Further Information]
Get more info on 'Melaleuca Quinquenervia'.
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