Episode 29: Malaria Proof Myrtles & Constant Contradictions - Tea tree
Hello and welcome back to another week of Rooted! This week we are digging into Tea Tree- A plant with as many contradictions as health benefits!
Tea Tree, or Melaleuca alternifolia is a tree native to Australia. It's Characterized by its white. Papery bark that peels off in layers- giving it its other nickname, the paperbark tree! They are also easy to spot because of their distinctive flowers, which look a lot like a bottle brush you would use to wash your dishes! They also have stunning dark green, almost pine-needle like foliage that has a very distinct smell- its very fresh, but with a bite that really sits in the back of your nose!
These trees tend to get to about 20 feet tall and is a member of the myrtle family, with famous cousins like clove, all spice, and eucalyptus.
They are endemic to mainland Australia, with a strong preference for swampy, wet areas along the banks of streams.
For our first slight contradiction of the day is really more of a nod to the discovery of the tree, and is in it’s literal name- Melaleuca- literally means dark and light- thought to be named this because the first known melaleuca tree had white bark, which had been burned in a fire.
According to the Bundjalung people of Australia,Tea Tree was created when Eelemani, a powerful princess from the Dreamtime, had to cross the wild bush alone. Frightened, and anxious about being able to find her way home, she asked the powers of the forest for help and strength. They gave her a bag of seeds, and instructed her to sprinkle the seeds all along her way- kind of like Hansel and Gretel, but with something way cooler than breadcrumbs. As she sprinkled the seeds, they sprouted into brilliant white tea trees- lighting the path to guide her home, and offering their healing strength to those who needed it for centuries to come.
Over the ages that followed, the aboriginal people of Australia developed many new ways to use this plant, including medicines, tools, and building materials!
In medicine, traditionally tea tree was crushed and inhaled to treat the common cold or other respiratory ailments. It was also sometimes sprinkled on to wounds and covered with mud, or a bandage made from the bark to help treat skin lesions, cuts, or other conditions. It was also sometimes soaked, with the water then being used to treat anything from acne to sore throats, though nowadays it’s typically not recommended to ingest tea tree due to how astringent it can be.
Tea Tree was also a reliable source of strong but light-weight and water-resistant wood- making it a perfect choice for building roofs, rafts, and even boats to help keep folks safe and dry no matter where they went.
Powerful Shaman were also said to use tea tree to both guide and protect them as they went on spiritual journeys.
Over the years that followed, tea tree would eventually make its way through Europe and all the way over to the United states, where a man named Dr. John Gifford would become their biggest fan. Dr. Gifford was the first person in the US to earn his doctorate in forestry, and he went on to be an assistant professor at Cornell. As his time in Connecticut came to a close, he decided that Florida would be his next home, as the everglade, biodiversity, and milder winters, he figured, would do his heart some good.
Upon getting there, he set his sights on a massive problem Florida was facing at the time- Malaria. He knew there had to be a tree out there that could drink up some of that nasty water- and soon enough- he stumbled upon melaleuca quinquenervia.. Not only did it guzzle up that mosquito infested water, but it also seemed to REPEL the mosquitoes and had a lovely smell…he truly couldn't think of anything lovelier… that was, of course, until his plan worked a little *too* well. Before he knew it, Tea Tree was growing EVERYWHERE, which makes sense considering they love the swamp, so Florida is basically it’s dream vacation destination.
All at once, Tea tree began taking over the everglades, which probably seemed like a cake walk given what they had adapted alongside in the Australian bush.
To everyone’s ironic horror, the very tree this Dr. Gifford planted to save his beloved everglades is now one of it’s most prolific threats, with the planting of any melaleuca species being strictly prohibited across the state.
On the flip side of this contradiction, we have the beekeepers of Florida. See, Initially bee keepers weren’t too keen on welcoming this new species into their ecosystem- worried it would suck up too much water and detract from their bees' more typical sources of pollen.
This is interesting, as all varieties of Melaleuca tend to actually be pollinator MAGNETS, with bats, bees, and birds all flocking to them in droves.
However, the bee keepers eventually saw that adding tea tree into the ecosystem actually increased their bee’s honey production, so much so that when florida made a motion to REMOVE all tea trees that had previously been planted as a windbreak and malaria management system, the beekeepers were some of the loudest voices against that movement, fighting to keep the trees that had already been planted in favor of supporting their bees.
While the state of Florida may not love the power of tea tree in their landscapes, one thing we can ALL agree on is that it’s a very useful tool in medicine.
The most common way we use tea tree is tea tree oil, which is distilled from the leaves of the tree using steam. While most varieties of Melaleuca contain the active ingredient terpinen- 4-ol, Melaleuca alternifolia is most commonly cultivated for tea tree oil due to the fact that it’s leaves have very prominent oil glands, making it by far the best producer.
Tea Tree Oil is usually inhaled or applied topically to help fight off respiratory illnesses and support skin health. It has antibacterial properties, and also helps to reduce inflammation.
It works against viruses due to terpinen 4-ol’s ability to suppress the cells responsible for stimulating our inflammatory response, and, like in the case of influenza, blocks bacteria from entering the cells by disrupting the way they typically fuse themselves to the membrane
Tea Tree is also commonly used to repel bugs (espeically lice and fleas) as well as in skincare to help clean the skin and leave it feeling smooth and refreshed.
While you aren’t super likely ro run into one of these guys on your walk if you live in the US (Unless you live somewhere swampy), you WILL certainly find plenty of tea tree products next time you go shopping for skin care, fragrance, or over the counter treatments for the common cold. And when you do, I hope you take a moment to really be thankful for all that these bottle-brush bearing beauties do to help us live healthier and happier lives.
Sources:
https://thepracticalherbalist.com/advanced-herbalism/tea-tree-herb-shaman/
https://www.eattheweeds.com/melaleuca-tea-tree-sweetener-pharmacy-2/
https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/tea-tree-oil
Friso, G. (2023, July). Plants to Strengthen and Heal the Respiratory System. Plants to Improve Cardiovascular and Respiratory HealthCALS 154 .
