What's this graveyard tree? Solved: Melaleuca

[Tom]

Some will know right away what this is.  If you do, give the others a chance to guess.  Charlie, Deadheader, Crosscut.....  You can play but you're disqualified to name it.

They form a pretty crown for landscaping

The seeds form like a row of corn from the sickeningly sweet smelling, bottle brush shaped flowers.

The thick bark is composed of many thin layers and is pliable like paper.  Many commonly call it a paperbark tree.

[Bro. Noble]

It looks like it might be some kinda willow?

Noble

[Mark M]

It looks similar to a Russian Olive, but I've never seen one that big.

Mark

[Chet]

Australian Paperbark Tree,  other common names -bottle brush tree, cajeput tree, melaleuca, niaouli, paperbark, punktree

[Tom]

That's good Chet!

It's taken over south Florida.  When I was a kid it was planted on our street as an ornamental.  Other than the bark, which I find neat, the main remembrance I have is the overpowering sweet smell of the flowers.  It was almost nauseating.  

I would certainly like to find a use for the lumber because a fellow could almost be paid to cut the trees down. 'Course if they found out you were using the tree then the economics would change and it would go from a nuisance weed to a valuable timber tree. :-/

[Chet]

Some of the invasive critters that plague Michigan are: purple loosestrife, glossy buckthorn, spotted knapweed, and zebra muscles. None of dem are sawable either.  

[CHARLIE]

Yeah but Buckthorn is a beautiful wood to turn. Real nice grain and color.