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paperbark or tea tree
- Thread starter serat
- Start date
Paper bark and tea tree are the same family - malaleuca. Over 300 species; the larger ones commonly known as paperbark, the smaller ones commonly known as honey myrtles and tea tree of course. Tea trees are usually skinny and fairly straight and grow in groups - lots of them together. They seem to like swampy areas.
have you tried using a ferro rod on a tea tree bark
No. I'd rather gather kindling from the ground than pull bark off a live tree. I'm pretty sure tea tree isn't what you're after. The outer bark is more closely packed in the tea tree. Still flaky but not in big sheets like some of the larger paperbarks. Interestingly those larger paperbarks also seem to like wet places - I don't think I've ever seen them far from water. They seem to grow in places that are often under water.
I imagine tea tree leaves would burn like crazy because of the high oil content - again, not something I'd ever do. Where I live there is a lot of pressure on the few bush areas around, and they have already been hit hard with people collecting firewood etc. They fell any dead tree they can - this has created a nesting crisis for parrots that only nest in hollows of standing dead trees. Then there are vehicular tracks everywhere, at the cost of the scrub. Most of these tracks are just for dickheads to drive up to where they want to harvest the dead wood. There's not really any bush untouched here - I imagine it is the same where you are, no matter where that is.
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Thx I was on a course and we came across a tree that looked like paperbark but trying to use the shredded bark that pealed off for tinder wouldnt light at all or very difficult. just cant remember the name of it. memory like a sieve. i used to work on city councils in hort and refused to cut up logs in the finish because people wanted them removed from parks. i didnt want to destroy habitat. havent been in vic very long, doing a wilderness medicine course next week. out of here in a few months
Kindlling
Les Hiddins
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not sure , this vid may be visually helpful .(seen it before however internet too slow now )
I just remember being told to be careful driving the truck in tea tree country years ago , especially in the wet because
“you’ll get bogged , and there is no bottom in it .”
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good idea i just called gordo it was a tea tree that was more difficult to set on fire he was on last day of level 2 course only had 2 mins to talk
Wave Man
Pyromaniac
the paperbarks I've tried weren't that good for tinder from what I've found, they took a spark from a ferro rod after a while but didn't burn consistently. You can get them to go but it takes a lot of work.
Personally, I'd be looking for different tinder.
Personally, I'd be looking for different tinder.
I was wondering that. I can understand why people would think they are good tinder (it seems logical), but without actually trying it. I've used dead paperbark wood for fires and that didn't burn well.
have you tried processing it into a nest then scraping it with a knife to get really fine pieces for in the center
Have a look at some of his posts.
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Wave Man
Pyromaniac
I have tried it several ways and as I posted mostly paperbark is spotty at best (in my experience) I have found some types to be good (I think it was melaleuca type) it took a spark from a ferro rod very well and burned consistently. For the most part, paperbark is a mediocre tinder in my experience. There are lots of other far better tinders out in the bush readily available.
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Interesting comments in this thread.
I've found paperbark quite good, but you do need to spend the time to carefully scrape it into very fine shards (as serat suggests)
Tea tree - is not good at all
I've found paperbark quite good, but you do need to spend the time to carefully scrape it into very fine shards (as serat suggests)
Tea tree - is not good at all
OutdoorAcademy
Russell Coight
The New Zealand Tea tree or Manuka is A) a delicious tea from the green leaves B) Medicinal for drawing out infection and C) the bark makes a good tinder.
The bonus is it id prolific in my area.
The bonus is it id prolific in my area.
Paperbark or Melaleuca is about the most useful tree in Australia Bushcraft.
It will take a spark very easily from a fero rod but needs to be processed.I usually just crumble some with my fingers.
It will take a spark very easily from a fero rod but needs to be processed.I usually just crumble some with my fingers.
ProfessionalAmateur
Russell Coight
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I’ve found most melaleucas in my area struggle to catch a spark unless:
1. I buff it up really well first; and
2. You need twice as much as you first think so you can rapidly feed it to a decent flame once something does catch.
Note: If it has been raining hard I’ve also found most of these trees will still have wet bark even after you dig into them a little.
1. I buff it up really well first; and
2. You need twice as much as you first think so you can rapidly feed it to a decent flame once something does catch.
Note: If it has been raining hard I’ve also found most of these trees will still have wet bark even after you dig into them a little.