About Melaleuca styphelioides Sm.
Melaleuca styphelioides Sm. is a small to medium-sized tree that grows up to 20 meters (70 feet) tall. It has a dense, rounded canopy and drooping branchlets, and its spongy bark is white or light brown, peeling off in large strips. Its leaves are sessile, 7–15 mm (0.3–0.6 in) long, 2.5–6 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide, slightly twisted, and arranged alternately along the branchlets. Each leaf has a sharply-pointed tip and between 15 and 30 veins. Flowers grow in summer as cream or white cylindrical bottlebrush-shaped spikes that are 2 to 5 cm (0.8 to 2 in) long and 1 to 2 cm (0.4 to 0.8 in) in diameter, and new growth often appears at the end of these spikes. After flowering, grey-brown, woody, ovoid, stalkless capsules 3 to 4 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) in diameter grow in clusters along the branchlets. This species occurs along stream banks or other moist sites, mostly in coastal areas from Nowra in New South Wales northwards into Queensland. In horticulture, this melaleuca thrives in a wide range of growing conditions, from swampy to hot, dry environments. Because it is deep-rooting, lawn can be grown under its canopy. It is used as a street tree in Sydney, with good examples in the inner southwestern suburb of Campsie, and along numerous streets in many suburbs of Greater Melbourne.
