Where are Australia’s melaleuca forests?
About 75% of Australia’s melaleuca forest occurs in Queensland, particularly on Cape York Peninsula (Table 2 and Figure 1). A further 22% is found in the northern part of the Northern Territory. Small pockets occur along the subtropical and temperate coasts of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, and on the fringes of rivers and coastal wetlands, including in brackish and saline areas. Extensive stands of swamp dominated by melaleucas, blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) and Leptospermum species occur on poorly drained sites in northwestern Tasmania. The dominant species in melaleuca forests vary markedly. Northern Australian melaleuca forests are dominated by broadleaved paperbark (Melaleuca viridiflora), weeping or long-leaved paperbark (M. leucadendra), silver paperbark (M. argentea), blue paperbark (M. dealbata) and yellow-barked paperbark (M. nervosa). In southern and eastern Australia, melaleuca forests are confined to permanently wet watercourses and swamps. The most common coas
