flaxleaf paperbark Myrtaceae Melaleuca linariifolia Sm. Listen to the Latin symbol: MELI7 Other Fact Sheets
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
leaf flower bark form1 map
Additional Range Information:
Melaleuca linariifolia is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and may seed into the landscape. See states reporting flaxleaf paperbark.
External Links:
USDA Plants Database 		© Copyright 2016, Virginia Tech
Dept. of Forest Resources
and Environmental Conservation,
all rights reserved.
Photos and text by: John Seiler,
Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera,
and John Peterson
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