Latin Name: Melaleuca Alternifolia
Description
The tea tree is indigenous to Australia. It has won a reputation as a 'cure-all' because of its powerful anti-fungal, antiviral and antibacterial properties. Due to its unique composition tea tree oil displays a number of remarkable properties making a very effective oil for a wide range of complaints. What makes tea tree outstanding in comparison to other remedies is that it is active against all three varieties of infectious organisms: bacteria, fungi and viruses. Independent microbiological testing has confirmed the effectiveness of tea tree oil in fighting infection.
Tea tree is a small tree or shrub (smallest of the tea tree family) with needle like leaves similar to cypress, with heads of sessile yellow or purplish flowers. Other varieties have been cultivated elsewhere, but Melaleuca alternifolia is not produced outside Australia. There are a large group of plants in Australia known collectively as "tea trees". The fact that the same name is commonly used to describe a very diverse and wide spread botanical group of plants has led to some confusion. Also, the essential oil derived from Melaleuca alternfolia has also been called Ti Tree oil, although Ti is the Maori name for the Cabbage tree (Cordyline australis).
Aboriginals used a number of tea trees in medicine for coughs and colds. The leaves were crushed and inhaled or soaked to make an infusion. Leaf washes were applied to pains, sores and burns.
The essential oil is extracted by steam or water distillation from leaves and twigs. A pale yellowy-green or water-white mobile liquid with a warm fresh, spicy-camphoraceous odour is extracted. Principal constituents include terpinene-4-01 (up to 30%), cineol, pinene, terpinenes, cymene, sesquiterpenes, and sespuiterpene alcohols.
