melaleuca

[ mel-uh-loo-kuh ]

/ ˌmɛl əˈlu kə /

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noun

any of various chiefly Australian shrubs or trees belonging to the genus Melaleuca, of the myrtle family, including the cajeput and several species of bottlebrush.

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Origin of melaleuca

<New Latin (Linnaeus), irregular coinage from Greek mélā(s) black + leukḗ, feminine of leukós white; so called from its black trunk and white branches

Words nearby melaleuca

mel, mela, melaena, melagra, Melaka, melaleuca, melalgia, melamed, melamine, melamine resin, melammed

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use melaleuca in a sentence

The area is a disturbed wetland, invaded by non-native melaleuca trees that have crowded out native flora and fauna.
How to Catch a Giant Python|Catharine Skipp|February 28, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The soil was excellent, and the brushes behind us abounded with a new species of melaleuca.
Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia, Complete|Charles Sturt
Oil of cajeput, is prepared in the Moluccas, by distilling the dry leaves of the melaleuca leucadendron.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
The principal channel of the creek was lined with a species of Melaleuca, with slightly foliacious bark.
Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia|Ludwig Leichhardt

The Casuarina, which likes a light sandy soil, disappeared at the same time, and was succeeded by the narrow-leaved Melaleuca.
Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia|Ludwig Leichhardt
A Melaleuca with very small decussate leaves, a tree about twenty-five feet high, was growing on the scrubby ridges.
Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia|Ludwig Leichhardt

British Dictionary definitions for melaleuca

melaleuca

/ (ˌmɛləˈluːkə) /

noun

any shrub or tree of the mostly Australian myrtaceous genus Melaleuca, found in sandy or swampy regions

Word Origin for melaleuca

C19: New Latin, from Greek melas black + leukos white, from its black trunk and white branches

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012