# Melaleuca

**Family:** Myrtaceae

_**Melaleuca**_ [/ˌmɛləˈluːkə/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) is a [genus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genus) of nearly 300 [species](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species) of [plants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant) in the myrtle [family](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_(biology)), [Myrtaceae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrtaceae), commonly known as **paperbarks**, **honey-myrtles** or **tea-trees** (although the last name is also applied to species of _[Leptospermum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptospermum)_). They range in size from small shrubs that rarely grow to more than 1 m (3 ft) high, to trees up to 35 m (100 ft). Their flowers generally occur in groups, forming a “head” or “spike” resembling a [brush](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brush) used for cleaning bottles, containing up to 80 individual flowers. They are superficially like _[Banksia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksia)_ species, which also have their flowers in a spike, but the structures of individual flowers in the two [genera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genus) are very different.

Second only to members of the family [Proteaceae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proteaceae), melaleucas are an important food source for [nectarivorous](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nectarivore) insects, birds, and mammals. Many are popular garden plants, either for their attractive flowers or as dense screens; and a few have economic value for producing fencing and oils such as “tea tree” oil. Most melaleucas are [endemic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endemism) to [Australia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia), with a few also occurring in [Malesia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malesia). Seven are endemic to [New Caledonia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Caledonia), and one is found only on (Australia’s) [Lord Howe Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Howe_Island). Melaleucas are found in a wide variety of habitats. Many are adapted for life in swamps and boggy places, while others thrive in the poorest of sandy soils or on the edge of saltpans. Some have a wide distribution and are common, whilst others are rare and endangered. Land clearing, exotic [myrtle rust](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uredo_rangelii), and especially draining and clearing of swamps threaten many species.

[**Source:** Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melaleuca)