Melaleuca leucadendron

Melaleuca leucadendron

Melaleuca leucadendra, commonly known as weeping paperbark, long-leaved paperbark or white paperbark is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is widespread in northern Australia, Southeast Asia, New Guinea and the Torres Strait Islands.

Uses

Healing skin cuts, Burns and infections, Treating respiratory problems.

Parts Used

Leaves.

Chemical Composition

The chemical composition of cananga oil was analyzed by GC-MS. GC-MS analysis showed that 23 compounds have been identified. The main compounds of cananga oil were caryophyllene (36.44%), â-linalool (5.97%), á-caryophyllene (9.61%), germacrene D (17.23%) and benzyl benzoate (7.18%).

Common names

Language	Common name
Kannada
Hindi	शीतांशु Shitanshu, विशाहा Vishaha
Malayalam	Cajeputier
Tamil	கையாப்புடை kaiyapputai
Telugu
Marathi	NA
Gujarathi	NA
Punjabi	NA
Kashmiri	NA
Sanskrit	कायापुटी kayaputi
English	Cajuput Tree, Fine leaf melaleuca, Punk tree, Swamp tea tree, white tea tree, White wood

Properties

Reference: Dravya - Substance, Rasa - Taste, Guna - Qualities, Veerya - Potency, Vipaka - Post-digesion effect, Karma - Pharmacological activity, Prabhava - Therepeutics.

Habit

Tree

Identification

Leaf

Kind	Shape	Feature
Simple	Alternate and long	The leaves are light green and feathery. 12-15cm long in length

List of Ayurvedic medicine in which the herb is used

• Vishatinduka Taila as root juice extract

Mode of Propagation

cutting.

How to plant/cultivate

Melaleuca leucadendra is a large tree, usually less than, but sometimes more than 20 m (70 ft) tall. Its thick bark is papery, usually white but also pinkish or cream and it has weeping branches. Its leaves and young branches are covered with fine, short, white hairs when young but become glabrous as they mature. The leaves are arranged alternately, 75–270 mm (3–10 in) long, 6.5–40 mm (0.3–2 in) wide, flat, narrow egg-shaped or lance-shaped and tapering to a point. The leaves have 5 (sometimes as many as 9) longitudinal veins and are often curved or sickle-shaped.

The flowers are cream, white or greenish-white and are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering, sometimes on the sides of branches or in the upper leaf axils. Each spike is up to 35 mm (1 in) in diameter, up to 80 mm (3 in) long and contains between 7 and 22 groups of flowers in threes. The petals are 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide and fall off soon after the flower opens. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower and each bundle contains 5 to 12 stamens. Flowering can occur at any time of the year and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules, 3.9–4.9 mm (0.15–0.19 in) long in loose clusters along the stems.

Commonly seen growing in areas

Tall grasslands, Meadows, Borders of forests and fields.

Photo Gallery

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External Links

• Melaleuca leucadendron