Your local guide to Melaleucas in Palm Cove.
Many visitors to Palm Cove marvel at the beauty and size of the Melaleuca trees that line the streets of Palm Cove along with the swaying coconut palms, as they are quite a sight to behold.
More than a century old, the residents of Palm Cove have gone to great lengths to ensure developments in the area have saved the ancient giants wherever possible, and many Palm Cove resorts incorporate the Melaleucas as part of their architechure.
The Melaleuca, (Melaleuca quinquenervia) are commonly known as Paperbarks as the bark ok many Melaleuca species is flaky, and comes off the tree is sheets not unlike the texture of paper. The botanical name for the genus means "black and white" and presumably refers to the blackened lower bark and white upper bark of some species, resulting from fire.
According to ASGAP, Melaleuca is a genus of around 170 species in the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae). However, there are many unnamed and incorrectly named species and the true number is probably well in excess of 200. The majority of species are endemic to Australia but several occur to the north (eg. Indonesia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Malaysia). The first plants of the genus were, in fact, collected in the mid 1600s in Indonesia by George Runf, a Dutch merchant. These two species are now known as M.leucadendra and M.cajuputi and both also occur in tropical Australia, including Palm Cove.
In nature, Melaleucas are often found along watercourses, are plants of open forest, woodland or shrubland and are popular for gardens and landscaping both in Australia and overseas. With one exception, melaleucas have not become weeds outside of their natural habitat. M.quinquenervia, however, a large tree from eastern Australia, has become a serious pest in the Florida everglades in the USA. This particular species is widely used as a landscaping plant in many parts of Australia.
Melaleucas are valued by beekeepers, attractive to birds and bats and majestic on the streets of Palm Cove.
Melaleuca is a tree, to about 80' (24m) tall. Its bark is whitish, spongy, peeling, and in many layers. Its leaves are to 5 inches long, alternate, evergreen, simple, short-stalked, narrowly elliptic. Leaf veins are more or less parallel. Melaleuca's white flowers are small and crowded in bottlebrush-like spikes at branch tips. The fruit are short, cylindric or squarish, woody capsules with many tiny seeds.
Resorts which have incorporated the Melaleucas of Palm Cove into their structures include Paradise on the Beach Resort, Angsana Resort & Spa & Sebel Reef House & Spa. The have also been in inspiration of poems (see below) and resort names such as Melaleuca Resort.
This poem was written by a person visiting Palm Cove who clearly loved the Melaleucas, and appears on the reverse side of Oasis at Palm Cove's bookmark.
Bush
The beauty of sky, cloud and sea.
The purple translucence
of distant peaks and islands.
The primeval majesty of huge melaleucas
alongside their young and abundant
hugely-leafed cousins
of all luscious, shining varieties.
Beach
Warm salty waves
roll sweetly and softly; and
silver dollar leaves
of bright, lucid green
grow along the golden sand
in such perfection,
every leaf could break your heart.
Night
In this warm womb of life and pleasure;
this tropical North Queensland magic.
Soft, balmy breezes
The feeling of expectant beauty
all around you; and
a total abandonment
which everyone tastes
like sweet dark honey
curled warmly mouthwise.
Palm Cove:
Our one Oasis
from the dross
of ordinary life