Tree of the Week: Flaxleaf paperbark

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The flaxleaf paperbark -- Melaleuca linariifolia

More than 100 melaleucas originate in Australia. All have narrow or needle-like leaves, bottle-brush like flower clusters and woody seed capsules. Some have contorted branches and thick papery bark that peels off in layers. Most are easy to grow.

The flaxleaf paperbark tree, also called snow-in-summer for its sometimes abundant cover of white fluffy flower clusters, comes from Eastern Australia’s New South Wales and Southern Queensland, where it grows near watercourses or swamps. Melas (black) and leukos (white) refer to the appearance of black fire marks on a white trunk. Linariifolia means with leaves like the (snapdragon-like) toadflax. In naming, botanists refer to what they already know.

A quick-growing, small, dense tree to 30 feet tall by 20 feet wide and umbrellalike in shape, the flaxleaf has a soft and spongy bark that peels off in strips. Young branches are soft and slender. The 1½-inch bluish-green leaves feel stiff but look soft. Flowering can be profuse. The small, white, slightly perfumed flowers are followed by woody seed capsules. The tree takes drought and poor soil, but also periodic inundation. It makes a good screen and shade tree and has no obvious pests.

--Peter Severynen

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