This particular paperbark is my favourite as the bark on it (along with all other paperbarks) is rather interesting, and the leaves are rather delicate looking with rather sharp tips on them, hence the common name of the tree!

This genus of trees and shrubs belongs to the Myrtaceae family that also includes eucalypts. The bark is hard and papery-it can often be peeled off quite easily (please don’t do that, the tree looks great as nature intended!). The flowers appear in spikes or clusters, depending on the species. What is a rather interesting feature of this genus (along with callistemons) is that the terminal bud (the growing point on a stem) will continue growing past the flower and will produce leaves.

Prickly-leaved paperbark is a tree that has the potential to reach 20 metres tall. Leaves are alternate, being ovate-lanceolate in shape. They are twisted with an acute apex. They are also sessile, which means they have no leaf stalk attaching them to the stem/branch. They are only small, being 10-15 mm long by 4-6mm wide.

Flowers are creamy-white, appearing in spikes 2-3 cm long. They are followed by capsule that are 3-4mm across. Unfortunately, I don’t currently have any flowers photos for you. Flowering occurs in mid-summer, which is January here in Sydney.

The favoured habitat of this tree is sheltered areas around streams, on land that can get inundated by water periodically. It is a tree that occupies gullies of the Blue Mountains (to the west of Sydney), and then eastwards to the coast. It appears as far south as Nowra and northwards to Queensland from there. The name Melaleuca comes from the Greek words melas meaning black and leucos meaning white, both referring to the white bark and black wood in the first collected specimens. The name styphelioides comes from being Styphelia-like. Styphelia is a genus of shrubs that have small leaves, as does this tree.

I haven’t seen this particular tree in cultivation much. It seems to be one of those species that is there in parks or more natural areas doing its thing in damp ground around streams. I think it is a tree that is best suited to being ‘wild’ rather than cultivated, due to the fact that it is a rather scruffy-looking tree, especially as they get older!

• Robinson, L., 2003, Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, Third Edition, Simon & Schuster (Australia)Pty Ltd, Cammeray, NSW, Australia
• Fairley, A., Moore, P., 2010, Native Plants of the Sydney Region, Third Edition, Jacana Books, Crows Nest, NSW, Australia