Niaouli tree

The niaouli tree, also known as Melaleuca viridiflora, is a tree found in Australia and tropical regions of South-East Asia that is related to the tea tree and whose leaves and twig tips are used to extract essential oil .

The niaouli tree belongs to the genus Melaleuca within the myrtle family (Myrtaceae). Some species of this genus - but also from the genera Baeckea, Kunzea and Leptospermum - are called tea trees.

The niaouli tree is also known as the tea tree, along with other species in the genus, and grows up to 30 m tall with cream to grey papery bark. Its leaves are elliptical in shape and are around 10 cm long and 5 cm wide. The flowers are mostly cream to greenish, sometimes pink to red. The shape of the flowers is reminiscent of a bottlebrush from which the capsule fruits develop.

Melaleuca viridiflora is the parent plant of Niaouli aetheroleum, the niaouli oil.