| Tea Tree Melaleuca alternifolia DESCR1PTION: A shrub or small tree up to 5 m high with a papery bark. Its leaves are mostly alternate, very narrow (up to 1.5 mm), tapered at both ends and rarely exceeding 20 mm in length. Flowers occur in loose cream-coloured spikes. Fruits are woody capsules, about 3 mm in diameter and occur in elongated clusters around branchless. Flowers in summer. It may he distinguished from the very similar M. linariifolia by its more compact habit, smaller overall size, narrower and shorter leaves as well as alternate leaf arrangement. Crushed foliage is aromatic. HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Usually in swampy or wet ground on the northern coastal strip of (Australia's) New South Wales (from Port Macquarie northwards) and southern Queensland. MEDICINAL USES: The terpinen-4-ol rich variety yields a bacteriostatic and germicidal oil. The oil, obtained by steam-distillation of the foliage, is used in the treatment of boils, abscesses, sores, cuts and abrasions, as well as in conditions resulting in vaginal discharge such as gonorrhoea. Reputed to cure skin conditions such as ring-worm. The oil is applied externally. ACTIVE CONSTITUENTS: The bactericidal components of the essential oil are terpinen-4-ol and possibly gamma-terpinene. The cineole-rich oils of one of the chemical forms of this species, originating from plants growing near the southern limits of the species' habitat, do not exhibit any of the bactericidal activity of the terpinen-4-ol-rich form and may in fact act as an irritant if applied too often to the skin. |