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Melaleuca is an evergreen tree with a slender crown and drooping branches. It usually gets about 40 ft (12.2 m) tall, but can get up to 100 ft (30.5 m). The bark is whitish and spongy, peeling off in thin layers. The leaves are alternate, simple, leathery, and lance-shaped to 4 in (10.2 cm) long. They smell like camphor when bruised. The flowers are creamy white and arranged in "bottle brush" spikes up to 6 in (15.2 cm) long. The fruits are small woody capsules clustered on the twigs. Each capsule contains several hundred tiny seeds.
Location
Light: Full sun. Moisture: Does best in moist soil. Can even grow in standing water. Also grows in well-drained upland situations. Hardiness: USDA Zones 9 - 11. Can survive severe frosts. Propagation: Melaleuca spreads by tiny seeds which are blown on the wind. A single tree can produce 20 million seeds per year, and is capable of releasing them all at once when stressed. Two-year old trees produce seed. Melaleuca resprouts from cut stumps and fire-killed trees resprout from their roots.
Usage
Melaleuca was introduced into Florida in 1906 as an ornamental. Seeds were scattered from airplanes over the Everglades in the 1930's in an attempt to create forests and drain the swamp. Even as late as the 1960's, melaleuca was still being recommended as an ornamental. Today, state and federal agencies are actively working to control the spread of this exotic menace. Biological control agents from Australia have been released. Crews are at work continuously cutting and herbiciding melaleuca trees in state parks, Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. Melaleuca contains cajeput oil which is strongly antiseptic and has many medicinal uses. However, this usually is harvested from other species of Melaleuca which are grown commercially in Australia.  WARNINGMelaleuca, especially when in bloom, causes respiratory irritation, headache and nausea to some people. Contact with the bark can cause a skin rash. Melaleuca is on Florida's official list of noxious plants, and its cultivation and possession are prohibited by state law. Steve Christman 1/6/00; updated 3/20/00, 5/19/04
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