| Stout Paperbark | |
|---|---|
| Melaleuca preissiana on the Swan Coastal Plain north of Perth | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Melaleuca |
| Species: | M. preissiana |
| Binomial name | |
| Melaleuca preissiana Schauer |
|
Melaleuca preissiana, commonly known as Stout Paperbark, Modong or Moonah, is a tree that grows in coastal areas of southwest Australia. It grows up to 15 metres tall, occurring chiefly in areas that are seasonally wet. It has papery bark, and pointed leaves from 1 to 1½ centimetres long and 1 to 2 millimetres wide. White or cream flowers are produced from about November to February.[1]
A scientific description of Melaleuca preissiana was first published by Johannes Conrad Schauer in Johann Georg Christian Lehmann's 1844 Plantae Preissianae 1(1), from a specimen collected by Ludwig Preiss and sent to England in one of James Drummond's collections.[2]
The common name "moonah" is probably attributed in error. Flora of the Perth Region uses the name, but other sources use "moonah" in reference to Melaleuca lanceolata (Moonah or Rottnest Island Tea-tree).[3]
The species is one of three typical trees occurring in the peat of Mound springs of the Swan Coastal Plain, ecological communities surrounding aquifer discharges of the Gnangara Mound.[4]