Melaleuca quinquenervia
(Cav.) S.T.Blake · speciesAt a glance
Sources15 archives
Databases and archives Melaleuca quinquenervia's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation9 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility13 132 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI45 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics32 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
giftgenome & karyotype
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Melaleuca quinquenervia, commonly known as the broad-leaved paperbark, paper bark tea tree, punk tree or niaouli, is a small- to medium-sized tree of the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. It grows as a spreading tree up to 20 m tall, with its trunk covered by a white, beige and grey thick papery bark. The grey-green leaves are egg-shaped, and cream or white bottlebrush-like flowers appear from late spring to autumn. It was first formally described in 1797 by the Spanish naturalist Antonio José Cavanilles. Native to New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and coastal eastern Australia, from Botany Bay in New South Wales northwards into Queensland, M. quinquenervia grows in swamps, on floodplains and near rivers and estuaries, often on silty soil. It has become naturalised in the Everglades in Florida, where it is considered a serious weed by the USDA.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology21
Life cycle & reproduction12
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment13
Physiology & chemistry8
Compounds documented for Melaleuca quinquenervia across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile5 classes
Documented compounds85 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ((2S,3R,4R,5R,6S)-2-(5,7-dihydroxy-4-oxo-2-(3,4,5-trihydroxyphenyl)chromen-3-yl)oxy-4,5-dihydroxy-6-methyloxan-3-yl) 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoate | present | LOTUS | |
| (+)-1(10),4-Cadinadiene | present | LOTUS | |
| (-)-alpha-Gurjunene | present | LOTUS | |
| (-)-Caryophyllene | present | LOTUS | |
| (-)-gamma-Cadinene | present | LOTUS | |
| (-)-Isocaryophyllene | present | LOTUS | |
| (1R,4S,6R)-1,3,3-Trimethyl-2-oxabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-6-yl beta-D-glucopyranoside | present | LOTUS | |
| (2S)-6-[(S)-(2,6-dihydroxy-4-methoxy-3-methylphenyl)-phenylmethyl]-5,7-dihydroxy-8-methyl-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydrochromen-4-one | present | LOTUS | |
| (2S)-8-[(S)-(2,6-dihydroxy-4-methoxy-3-methylphenyl)-phenylmethyl]-5,7-dihydroxy-6-methyl-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydrochromen-4-one | present | LOTUS | |
| (2S,3R,4S,5S,6R)-2-(3-hydroxy-5-methoxy-4-methylphenoxy)-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxane-3,4,5-triol | present | LOTUS |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Melaleuca quinquenervia has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Melaleuca quinquenervia carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 223×CCDB · book-ipcn75-78 · CCDB · book-fedorov · GIFT · GIFT (floras)
diploid inferred1×PloiDB · genus-scale
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type13 132 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions50 of 76 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Brisbane, AU | 303 |
| Canberra, AU | 228 |
| Université de Strasbourglocation not on record | 225 |
| Mount Annan, AU | 180 |
| Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record | 82 |
| Smithfield, AU | 81 |
| Armidale, AU | 77 |
| Tampa, US | 57 |
| Miami, US | 31 |
| Bronx, US | 26 |
| Paris, FR | 23 |
| Saint Louis, US | 22 |
| Jena Microbial Resource Collectionlocation not on record | 20 |
| Kew, GB | 18 |
| Adelaide, AU | 16 |
| Palmerston, AU | 15 |
| Durban, ZA | 9 |
| NSW Dept of Planning, Industry and Environmentlocation not on record | 8 |
| Rotorua, NZ | 7 |
| Hobart, AU | 6 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 6 |
| Honolulu, US | 5 |
| Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record | 5 |
| Cape Town, ZA | 5 |
| Riverside, US | 5 |
| Chicago, US | 5 |
| Kensington, AU | 5 |
| Bangkok, TH | 4 |
| Bloomington, US | 4 |
| Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record | 4 |
| James Cook Townsvillelocation not on record | 4 |
| Moscow State Universitylocation not on record | 3 |
| Wollongong, AU | 3 |
| MeiseBGlocation not on record | 3 |
| Monastir, TN | 3 |
| San José, CR | 3 |
| BISHlocation not on record | 3 |
| St. Augustine, TT | 2 |
| Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA)location not on record | 2 |
| Claremont, US | 2 |
| Auckland, NZ | 2 |
| Valdosta State Universitylocation not on record | 2 |
| DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record | 2 |
| Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza (PBZT)location not on record | 2 |
| Pretoria, ZA | 2 |
| San Luis Obispo, US | 2 |
| Flagstaff, US | 2 |
| Plocation not on record | 2 |
| San Diego, US | 2 |
| Chadron, US | 1 |
| Santa Barbara, US | 1 |
| Criciúma, BR | 1 |
| WAGlocation not on record | 1 |
| Chicago, US | 1 |
| UNESClocation not on record | 1 |
| Chapel Hill, US | 1 |
| HAWlocation not on record | 1 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Davis, US | 1 |
| Wellington, NZ | 1 |
| Zürich, CH | 1 |
| University of the Sunshine Coastlocation not on record | 1 |
| UFOPlocation not on record | 1 |
| US | 1 |
| Northridge, US | 1 |
| Centre National d'Application des Recherches Pharmaceutiques (CNARP)location not on record | 1 |
| BMlocation not on record | 1 |
| Irvine, US | 1 |
| Cambridge, US | 1 |
| Embrapa Agrobiology Diazothrophic Microbial Culture Collectionlocation not on record | 1 |
| Batemans Bay, AU | 1 |
| Edinburgh, GB | 1 |
| Vancouver, CA | 1 |
| Severin-McDaniel Insect Collectionlocation not on record | 1 |
| South Kensington, GB | 1 |
| Long Beach, US | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Melaleuca quinquenervia was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.