Paperbark teatree

Melaleuca ericifolia, the swamp paperbark or paperbark teatree, is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the Myrtaceae endemic to coastal and near-coastal swamps, riverbanks, and brackish wetlands of southeastern Australia, from New South Wales through Victoria to Tasmania. Plants typically reach 4 to 9 metres tall, with a fibrous, papery, layered white to grey bark that peels in thin sheets, and frequently form dense, suckering thickets from spreading lateral roots. The leaves are small, linear, alternate, 6 to 15 mm long, dark green, and resemble those of heaths (the basis of the epithet ericifolia). White, bottlebrush-like spikes 1.5 to 3 cm long of densely packed flowers with showy bundles of staminal filaments are produced in spring; each flower has five small petals and five staminal bundles. The fruit is a small woody capsule about 3 mm across, persistent on older wood. The plant is a key wetland species and yields a fragrant essential oil rich in 1,8-cineole.