Tea tree or Melaleuca alternifolia is a plant native to southeast Queensland
and northeast New South Wales in Australia. Essential oil is distilled from the
plant’s leaves to create medicinal and body care products. This oil is a
world-renowned natural antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and
anti-inflammatory.
Research and clinical trials have revealed that tea tree oil reduces, prevents,
relieves and/or treats bacteria, yeast, fungal infections such as tinea, acne,
boils, viral infections such as cold sores, dandruff, head lice, oral infections
such as gingivitis or denture stomatitis, and many other ailments.
People have also discovered remarkable results when using tea tree oil to
treat skin issues such as psoriasis, eczema and rashes.
The History of Tea Tree
Indigenous Australians first discovered the medicinal properties of the tea
tree plant. The Bundjalung people of eastern Australia used tea tree as a
traditional medicine by:
● inhaling the oil from crushed leaves to treat colds and coughs
● brewing a tea infused with its leaves to treat sore throats
● applying a poultice of leaves to wounds, abrasions and insect bites and stings.
In fact, one area in which tea trees grow abundantly is called Bungawalbyn:
healing ground . We know this plant as the tea tree because Captain James
Cook named it that after observing the Bundjalung people use its leaves in
medicinal tea.
A series of papers published throughout the 1920s and 30s by Arthur
Penfold and FR Morrison reported on tea tree oil’s incredible antimicrobial
properties. The reports found that tea tree oil was 11-13x more active than
phenol while being safer for topical application. The industry was born! Tea
tree oil quickly became an Australian household remedy. It was even a part
of every Australian WWII soldier’s kit, and tea tree oil producers were
exempt from military service!
The first commercial plantations were established in the 1970s. Fast forward
to today and distillation plants have evolved into larger, static stations that
produce high quality, pure Australian tea tree oil.