Blue paperbark (Melaleuca dealbata)
Description
Melaleuca dealbata, commonly known as karnbor or blue paperbark, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is native to tropical areas in northern Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia. It is a medium to large leafy tree, growing in wet areas such as on the edges of coastal lagoons. It has papery bark, relatively large, blue-green leaves and spikes of cream-coloured flowers over a long period. Melaleuca dealbata is a relatively slow-growing tree to 25 m (80 ft) with blue-grey foliage, hairy, pendulous branchlets and papery, layered bark. The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches and are elliptic to oval in shape, 50–126 mm (2–5 in) long, 10–30 mm (0.4–1 in) wide and have five to seven prominent longitudinal veins. Young shoots and twigs are densely clothed in erect, white or silver hairs. The small, creamy-white flowers are loosely arranged in 7 to 28 groups of three on spikes up to 120 mm (5 in) long and 25 mm (1 in) wide. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower with 5 to 8 stamens per bundle. Flowering occurs from May to December but mainly in spring, and the fruit that follows are cup or barrel-shaped woody capsules, 2.5–3.5 mm (0.098–0.14 in) wide and long. When the fruit matures, the fine, sawdust-like seeds are released.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Myrtales
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Family: Myrtaceae
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Genus: Melaleuca
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