Leptospermum juniperinum
{{Short description|Species of plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Prickly tea-tree
|image = Leptospermum juniperinum.jpg
|image_caption = At Somersby
|genus = Leptospermum
|species = juniperinum
|authority = Sm.{{cite web |title=Leptospermum juniperinum |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/98648|website=Australian Plant Census |accessdate=12 April 2020}}
synonyms =
- Leptospermum aciculare S.Schauer nom. illeg.
- Leptospermum aciculare S.Schauer var. aciculare
- Leptospermum aciculare var. majus S.Schauer
- Leptospermum aciculare var. minus S.Schauer
- Leptospermum scoparium var. aciculare (S.Schauer) Domin
- Leptospermum scoparium var. juniperina Ewart orth. .
- Leptospermum scoparium var. juniperinum (Sm.) Domin
|range_map = Leptospermum juniperinumDistA32.png
|range_map_caption = Occurrence data from AVH
}}
Leptospermum juniperinum, commonly known as the prickly tea tree,{{cite web |title=Leptospermum juniperinum |url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Leptospermum~juniperinum |publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney |accessdate=12 April 2020}} is a species of broom-like shrub that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has narrow, sharply pointed leaves, white flowers usually arranged singly on short side shoots and small fruit that remain on the plant when mature.
Description
Leptospermum juniperinum is a broom-like shrub that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|2-3|m}} and has thin, rough bark. The leaves are narrow elliptical or narrow lance-shaped, {{cvt|5-15|mm}} long and {{cvt|1-2|mm}} wide with a sharply pointed tip. The flowers are usually borne singly on short side shoots and are {{cvt|6-10|mm}} wide on a pedicel less than {{cvt|1|mm}} long. The floral cup is {{cvt|1.5-2|mm}} long, the sepals broadly egg-shaped and about {{cvt|1.6|mm}} long, the petals often about {{cvt|3.5|mm}} long and the stamens {{cvt|1-1.5|mm}} long. Flowering mostly occurs from November to December and the fruit is a capsule usually less than {{cvt|7|mm}} wide and that is not shed when mature.{{cite journal |last1=Thompson |first1=Joy |title=A revision of the genus Leptospermum (Myrtaceae) |journal=Telopea |date=1989 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=418–420|doi=10.7751/telopea19894902 |doi-access=free }}
Taxonomy
Leptospermum juniperinum was first formally described in 1797 by James Edward Smith in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London.{{cite web|title=Leptospermum juniperinum|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/524756 |publisher=APNI|accessdate=12 April 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=James Edward |title=Botanical Characters of Some Plants of the Natural Order of Myrti |journal=Transactions of the Linnean Society of London |date=1797 |volume=3 |pages=263–264 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/13713#page/290/mode/1up |accessdate=12 April 2020}} The specific epithet is a reference to a perceived similarity to Junipers.{{cite book |author=Francis Aubie Sharr |author-link=Francis Aubie Sharr |title=Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings |date=2019 |publisher=Four Gables Press |location=Kardinya, Western Australia |isbn=9780958034180 |page=229}}
Distribution and habitat
Prickly tea-tree grows in near-coastal swamps, heath and sedgeland and on sandstone cliffs between Fraser Island in Queensland and Ulladulla in New South Wales.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q647815}}
Category:Flora of New South Wales
Category:Flora of South Australia