Leptospermum emarginatum
{{short description|Australian species of plant}}
{{speciesbox
|name = Twin-flower tea-tree
|image = Leptospermum emarginatum.jpg
|image_caption = Leptospermum emarginatum flowers and leaves
|genus = Leptospermum
|species = emarginatum
|authority = H.L.Wendl. ex Link{{cite web|title=Leptospermum emarginatum|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/97838|publisher=Australian Plant Census|accessdate=26 March 2020}}
|synonyms = Fabricia odoratum Cheel
|range_map = Leptospermum emarginatumDistA17.png
|range_map_caption = Occurrence data from AVH
}}
File:Leptospermum emarginatum fruit(2).jpg
Leptospermum emarginatum, commonly known as the twin-flower tea-tree{{cite web |title=Leptospermum emarginatum |url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Leptospermum~emarginatum |publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney |accessdate=26 March 2020}} or twin flower teatree,{{cite web |title=Leptospermum emarginatum |url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/f3639508-c4cc-4aee-874f-6bcd4ffbc46a |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria |accessdate=26 March 2020}} is a species of shrub that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has rough bark on the older stems, lance-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base and a small notch at the tip, white flowers in groups of up to five and hemispherical fruit that falls off when mature.
Description
Leptospermum emarginatum is a shrub that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|1.5-4|m}}. It has rough bark that is shed in stringy strips on the larger branches and smooth bark on the younger stems. The leaves are aromatic, narrow egg-shaped to lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, mostly {{cvt|20-30|mm}} long and {{cvt|2.5-7|mm}} wide with a small notch at the tip. The flowers are borne in groups of up to five on short side shoots, each flower {{cvt|7-9|mm}} in diameter. The floral cup is dark-coloured, glabrous, {{cvt|2-3|mm}} long, tapering to a pedicel {{cvt|3-4|mm}} long. The sepals are triangular, {{cvt|1-1.5|mm}} long, the petals white, {{cvt|3-4|mm}} long and the stamens {{cvt|2.5-4|mm}} long in groups of about five. Flowering occurs from November to January and the fruit is a woody, hemispherical capsule {{cvt|3.5-5|mm}} wide that falls off the plant after the seeds are released.{{cite journal |last1=Thompson |first1=Joy |title=A revision of the genus Leptospermum (Myrtaceae) |journal=Telopea |date=1989 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=388–390}}
Taxonomy and naming
Leptospermum emarginatum was first formally described in 1822 by Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link from an unpublished description by Heinrich Wendland and the description was published in Link's book Enumeratio plantarum Horti regii botanici berolinensis altera.{{cite web|title=Leptospermum emarginatum|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/523293|publisher=APNI|accessdate=26 March 2020}}{{cite book |last1=Link |first1=Johann H.F. |title=Enumeratio plantarum Horti regii botanici berolinensis altera |date=1822 |publisher=apud G. Reimer |location=New York |page=25 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/1101#page/28/mode/1up |accessdate=26 March 2020}} The specific epithet (emarginatum) is from Latin meaning "notched".{{cite book |author=William T. Stearn |title=Botanical Latin. History, grammar, syntax, terminology and vocabulary |date=1992 |publisher=Timber Press |location=Portland, Oregon |edition=4th|page=405}}
Distribution and habitat
The twin-flower tea-tree grows along river banks and rocky creeks in coastal areas south from the Grose River in New South Wales to near Heyfield in Victoria.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q15368031}}
Category:Myrtales of Australia
Category:Flora of New South Wales