Tea Tree

Melalauca alternifolia

Melalauca alternifolia or Tea tree. Native to Australia, New Guinea and the Moluccas. It is a hardy, medium-sized tree with papery bark, in several layers and linear pointed leaves. Small white flowers resembling bottle-brushes appear in spring followed by tiny cup-shaped, woody capsules.

The plant is the source of a very widely used essential oil that has been shown to be strongly antiseptic. Young plant are frost sensitive and should be protected from the cold.