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Glite Dictionary
🌳 A tree 📄 Thin bark
paperbark

paperbark

7.5
A tree with bark that peels off in thin, papery layers
  • noun
  • Australian
translation icon : melaleuca
  • A group of paperbark trees lined the path, their bark curling gracefully away from the trunk.
  • paperbark tree
  • paperbark maple

Examples

  • In the garden, the paperbark tree stands out with its distinctive layers of bark.

  • Layers of paper-thin bark give the weed its "paperbark tree" nickname.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The canopy of stars seems propped on walls of cicada-encrusted paperbarks.

    Blog text (30)

  • The lake is surrounded by a rime of white salt and a dense woodland of Paperbark and Eucalypt trees, with sand dunes separating the lake from the Southern Ocean to the north.

    Blog text (27)

  • PHOTO (COLOR): Thin layers of peeling bark give melaleuca its nickname—paperbark tree.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The paperbark tree's unique, peeling bark adds texture to the landscape.

Synonyms

melaleuca
vspaperbark
  • Australian
1 9.9

A tree with papery bark and white or cream flowers

emphasizes peeling papery bark as the defining feature rather than flowers

Compounds

paperbark birch
  • US
8.6

A small North American tree with white bark that peels and is used for canoes and baskets

Surface Forms

paperbark singular
paperbarks plural

Morphology

paperbark = paper + bark (transparent) = paper + bark

The meaning is a direct combination of 'paper' (papery) and 'bark' (tree covering), so learners can infer it from the parts.

Etymology

Paperbark is a simple compound of paper and bark because the tree's outer layer peels away in thin, 'paper-like' sheets; people in places like Australia named the tree for this easy-to-see trait. That's why a paperbark tree is the kind of tree with soft, peeling bark.