page_title: Melaleuca quinquenervia
section_title: Distribution and habitat
hierarchical_section_title: Melaleuca quinquenervia / Distribution and habitat
caption_attribution_description: English: Melaleuca quinquenervia distribution in Australia and neighboring islands. Solid black colors adn stars represent continuous and relatively isolated M. quinquenervia forests, respectively. (Map by D. Johnston.)
context_page_description: Melaleuca quinquenervia, commonly known as the broad-leaved paperbark, paper bark tea tree, punk tree or niaouli, is a small- to medium-sized tree of the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. It grows as a spreading tree up to 20 m tall, with its trunk covered by a white, beige and grey thick papery bark. The grey-green leaves are egg-shaped, and cream or white bottlebrush-like flowers appear from late spring to autumn. It was first formally described in 1797 by the Spanish naturalist Antonio José Cavanilles.
  Native to New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and coastal eastern Australia, from Botany Bay in New South Wales northwards into Queensland, M. quinquenervia grows in swamps, on floodplains and near rivers and estuaries, often on silty soil. It has become naturalised in the Everglades in Florida, where it is considered a serious weed by the USDA.
context_section_description: In Australia, Melaleuca quinquenervia occurs along the east coast, from Cape York in Queensland to Botany Bay in New South Wales. It grows in seasonally inundated plains and swamps, along estuary margins and is often the dominant species. In the Sydney region it grows alongside trees such as swamp mahogany (Eucalyptus robusta) and bangalay (E. botryoides). It grows in silty or swampy soil and plants have grown in acid soil of pH as low as 2.5.
  Broad-leaved paperbark is also native in the southern part of Indonesian West Papua and Papua New Guinea. It is widespread in New Caledonia, including Grand Terre, Belep, Isle of Pines and Maré. It is a component of the savannah of western New Caledonia, scattered trees dotting the grassland habitat and its spread through this landscape might have been facilitated by human fire regimes. Major threats to M. quinquenervia are housing developments, roads, sugar cane and pine plantations. Remnants in Australia are not protected in reserves, with majority of its woodland located in private property where clearing continues.
  Melaleuca quinquenervia has been introduced as an ornamental plant to many tropical areas of the world, including Southeast Asia, Africa and the Americas and has become a weed in many areas.
caption: Melaleuca quinquenervia in Australia
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