# Identify this tree **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 11, 2018, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-tree/819445 "2018-08-11T21:12:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-tree/819445/1 "2018-08-11T21:12:29Z")
I saw this tree growing by a street in San Francisco yesterday, and found it fascinating. Photos here: [[Album] Identify this tree, located in San Francisco ![](https://i.imgur.com/quMCcE5.jpeg?fb "Identify this tree, located in San Francisco") ](https://imgur.com/a/Te5jqdP) There should be 3 photos there, I hope you can see them. One of the tree as a whole, a closeup of leaves, and a closeup of the bark. It is the bark that is most fascinating to me, it consists of many peeling layers, so that when you squeeze a branch the outside feels kind of spongy, with a solid core. The bark also feels damp, as if it is storing water somehow (and believe me, it hasn’t rained here in months). My tree expert friend suggested Brazilian Pepper Tree, but the bark on that seems totally different (based on images I can see online). Anyone have a good guess? ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-tree/819445/2 "2018-08-11T23:16:16Z")
Looking at the bark, I’m going to suggest a _melaleuca_ tree, but not so sure about the foliage. However, given that there’s over 300 types in the melaleuca family… ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-tree/819445/3 "2018-08-11T23:43:08Z")
Yes I agree it’s probably _Melaleuca_ commonly called the Paper bark tea tree. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-tree/819445/4 "2018-08-12T03:46:41Z")
Yep, now I see it, it’s probably a variety that we plant around here called “cajeput.” I don’t remember touching one that felt damp before, though. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-tree/819445/5 "2018-08-12T03:51:44Z")
The melaleuca is an invasive species in Florida. Is it that way in California? ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-tree/819445/6 "2018-08-12T04:11:24Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Yep, now I see it, it’s probably a variety that we plant around here called “cajeput.” I don’t remember touching one that felt damp before, though. Depending on where the melaleuca is growing, it will absorb heaps of ground-water, so are a very useful plant/tree to have around boggy areas and their flowers can be just delightful. But as **nearwildheaven** mentioned, the trees have become invasive down in Florida when they were introduced into the US to help waterlogged lands around the Everglades. Mostly a native of Australia, their niche here is established and controlled. [But the US govt who introduced the melaleuca back in 1900 have not been quite so lucky.](https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/melaleuca-quinquenervia/) ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-tree/819445/7 "2018-08-12T04:14:37Z")
Oh, and the reason the bark and tree felt damp was because the bark and tree are full of water. Even though the ‘paper’ bark looks brittle, it’s really quite smooth and lustrous because of the moisture content. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-tree/819445/8 "2018-08-13T18:55:06Z")
So, my assumption was wrong. Our organization’s tree ID expert identifies it as a [polylepsis australis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polylepis_australis) (aka tabaquillo or queñoa), which originates in Argentina (I believe in this context, “australis” refers to “southern hemisphere”). Apparently, the original forests of this tree in Argentina are an endangered ecosystem. Similarities in the bark characteristics notwithstanding, polyepsis australis is not closely related to melaleuca trees, being of a different Order (Rosales vs. Myrtales).