Melaleuca ericifolia – Swamp Paperbark seeds

Melaleuca ericifolia
Common name(s): Swamp Paperbark
Indigenous name(s): Barlan (Ganai)
Height, Width: Up to 9m high
Plant Type: Shrub
Flowering Period: October to November

A tall, dense shrub with brownish papery bark growing to 9m high. The dark green leaves are alternately arranged and around 5-18mm by 0.5-1.7mm in size. Creamy white flowers appear in spikes on the end of branches, with petals up to 2.2mm long. Following the flowers, the fruits are woody capsules 2.5-3.6mm by 3-5mm, arranged along the stems.

Derivation of Name:
Melaleuca; from the Greek words melas meaning ‘black’ and leukos meaning ‘white,’
referring to black fire scars on white trunks. Ericifolia; a reference to the similarity of the leaves of this species to those of Erica in the family Ericaceae.

Uses:
Aborigines used the flowers for a sweet drink whilst the soft papery bark was used to swaddle babies. The harder bark was used to make fishing floats while the wood was suitable for spears, clubs and digging sticks.

Propagation and maintenance notes:
The plant is best grown in damp, loam or sandy soils and positioned in full to partial sun. It has some degree of salt tolerance.

SEEDS: Enough for you to successfully grow between 50-100 plants. Your seeds are of the same stock we use to grow our native plants in the nursery. The success of germination varies with open-pollinated, wild-collected seeds and after 3 years of consistently growing these species in the local area, I have selected the amount of seed you need to successfully grow between 50-100 plants yourself. These seeds are collected seasonally and with sincere cultural and ecological respect. Ordering a quantity according to this scale rather than ordering individual seeds is a better representation of sustainable seed harvesting and success for the grower.

Packet of 100-200 seeds.

Larger quantities are available.

PROPAGATION NOTES:

For great results refrigerate your seeds for 1-2 weeks before sowing. This emulates an over-wintering effect that helps with germination rates.

Sow seeds in a native-specific potting mix.

A good general rule to follow is to sow seeds at a depth relative to the size of the seed.

(Eucalyptus seeds require a light dusting of soil as their seeds are usually tiny. Warrigal Greens require a 50mm to 100mm depth.)

Keep moist, water daily until germination in 2-8 weeks at a minimum of 15° Celsius.

Reduce your watering amount once germination has occurred.

Sow at any time of the year.