Botanical atlas

Bracelet Honey Myrtle

Melaleuca armillaris

Long before it found its way into gardens outside Australia, Melaleuca armillaris grew wild along the cliffs and riverbanks of New South Wales and Victoria, its dense, salt-tolerant branches forming natural shelter from coastal wind for whatever grew or nested behind it. Since the nineteenth century, gardeners and farmers around the world have planted it for that same purpose, raising quick, tough hedgerows along coastlines from California to the Mediterranean. Beekeepers have long favored its cream flower spikes, which open through the warmer months and draw bees for a distinctive, aromatic honey. It shares its genus with the more famous tea tree, Melaleuca alternifolia, and its crushed leaves carry a similar sharp, camphor-like scent, though this species has never built up the same documented herbal tradition as its well-studied cousin.

Safety.

This tree is grown for landscaping, not food or medicine, and its oil should never be swallowed since concentrated Melaleuca oils are toxic if ingested, especially for children and pets. Crushed leaves or extracted oil can irritate sensitive skin.