Virginia Tech Dendrology

flaxleaf paperbark Myrtaceae Melaleuca linariifolia Sm. symbol: MELI7
Leaf: Alternate, simple, evergreen, lanceolate, 1 1/2 inches, parallel veined, gray-green above and below, stiff, borne on a short petiole.
Flower: Monoecious, white, with numerous long stamens; borne in showy 2 inch bottlebrush-like spikes at the branch tips; flowering heavily in May - June, may be in such profusion that the crown appears to be snow-covered.
Fruit: Numerous seeds are tiny, borne in sessile short cylindrical woody capsules.
Twig: Slender, red-brown, aging to gray-brown.
Bark: Distinctly layered, gray to chalk-white with reddish-brown, shreddy/peeling; notably corky or spongy and thick.
Form: A small tree to 30 feet tall with a stout trunk and rounded crown.
Looks like: bottlebrush tree - melaleuca

Additional Range Information: Melaleuca linariifolia is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and may seed into the landscape. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material © 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information