Melaleuca alternifolia - Tea tree oil

Melaleuca alternifolia, Tea tree oil

Tea tree oil (TTO), or melaleuca oil, is an essential oil with a fresh camphoraceous odor and a colour that ranges from pale yellow to nearly colourless and clear.[1] It is taken from the leaves of the Melaleuca alternifolia, which is native to Southeast Queensland and the Northeast coast of New South Wales, Australia.

Tea tree oil is toxic when taken by mouth, but is widely used in low concentrations in cosmetics and skin washes. Tea tree oil has been claimed to be useful for treating a wide variety of medical conditions. It shows some promise as an antimicrobial. Tea tree oil may be effective in a variety of dermatologic conditions, including dandruff, acne, lice, herpes, and other skin infections. However, the quality of the evidence is low.

Parts Used

Oil

Common names

Language	Common name
Kannada
Hindi
Malayalam
Tamil
Telugu
Marathi	NA
Gujarathi	NA
Punjabi	NA
Kashmiri	NA
Sanskrit
English	Melaleuca oil

Properties

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

Dravya

Rasa

Guna

Veerya

Ushna (Hot)

Vipaka

Karma

Prabhava

Habit

Tree

Identification

Leaf

Kind	Shape	Feature
Simple	Variable	variously arranged, scattered to whorled often on one branchlet; petiole 1 mm long; blade linear-acute, 10-35 mm x 1 mm, 3-veined (often only mid-vein visible), puberulous, glabrescent, dotted with oil glands visible with a lens.

Flower

Type	Size	Color and composition	Stamen	More information
Bisexual	axillary or terminal spike	Pale yellow	30-60	Flowers solitary within each bract with tubular calyx up to 3 mm long and white corolla 2-3 mm long, stamens 30-60, white, clawed, pistil with 3-4 mm long style and capitate stigma.

Fruit

Type	Size	Mass	Appearance	Seeds	More information
A capsule	2-3mm		a many-seeded, globose, woody capsule, 2-3 mm in diameter	{{{5}}}	{{{6}}}

Other features

Mode of Propagation

Stem

How to plant/cultivate

Seed - surface sow in spring or autumn onto a pot of permanently moist soil in a warm greenhouse. Emmerse in 5cm of water and do not water from overhead. Grow on until the seedlings are 0.5cm tall then remove from the water and pot up a week later. Seedlings are liable to damp off when grown this way, sowing the seed thinly, good ventilation and hygiene are essential for success.

Commonly seen growing in areas

Tropical area.

Photo Gallery

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  Leaves

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  Tree

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  Flowers

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  Flowers

External Links

• "wikipedia"