Leptospermum minutifolium

{{Short description|Species of shrub}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

{{speciesbox

|name = Small-leaved tea-tree

|image = Leptospermum minutifolium.jpg

|image_caption = Leptospermum minutifolium in Cathedral Rock National Park

|genus = Leptospermum

|species = minutifolium

|authority = C.T.White{{cite web|title=Leptospermum minutifolium|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/99317|publisher=Australian Plant Census|accessdate=27 April 2020}}

|synonyms_ref =

|synonyms =

  • Leptospermum flavescens var. minutifolium F.Muell. ex Benth.
  • Leptospermum polygalifolium var. minutifolium (F.Muell. ex Benth.) Domin

}}

File:Leptospermum minutifolium habit.jpg

File:Leptospermum minutifolium fruit.jpg

Leptospermum minutifolium, commonly known as the small-leaved tea-tree,{{cite web |title=Species profile—Leptospermum minutifolium (small-leaved tea-tree) |url=https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species-search/details/?id=16822 |publisher=Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science |accessdate=27 April 2020}} is a species of shrub that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has relatively small egg-shaped leaves, white flowers borne singly on the ends of branches and fruit that remains on the plant.

Description

Leptospermum minutifolium is a shrub that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|1-2|m}}. It has variable bark, sometimes thin and rough, otherwise smooth and flaking. The leaves are egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, usually {{cvt|2-4|mm}} long but sometimes up to {{cvt|7|mm}} long, and about {{cvt|2|mm}} wide. The flowers are white, about {{cvt|8|mm}} wide and arranged singly on the ends of short side shoots. The floral cup is glabrous, {{cvt|2-3|mm}} long, the sepals {{cvt|1.5-2|mm}} long, the petals {{cvt|2.5-3|mm}} long and the stamens {{cvt|3-3.5|mm}} long. Flowering mainly occurs from October to November and the fruit is a capsule {{cvt|5-7|mm}} wide that remains on the plant at maturity.{{cite journal |last1=Thompson |first1=Joy |title=A revision of the genus Leptospermum (Myrtaceae) |journal=Telopea |date=1989 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=406–407|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/60678131#page/420/mode/1up |access-date=25 December 2022}}{{cite web |title=Leptospermum minutifolium |url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Leptospermum~minutifolium |publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney |accessdate=27 April 2020}}

Taxonomy and naming

Leptospermum minutifolium was first formally described in 1946 by Cyril Tenison White in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland from specimens collected by "Mrs. M.S. Clemens" near Wallangarra.{{cite web|title=Leptospermum minutifolium|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/525825 |publisher=APNI|accessdate=27 April 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=White |first1=Cyril T. |title=Contributions to the Flora of Queensland, N. 9 |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland |date=1946 |volume=57 |page=26 |url=http://www.royalsocietyqld.org/proceedings/proceedings-of-the-royal-society-of-queensland-for-1945-vol-57/?query=Volume%2057 |accessdate=27 April 2020}}

Distribution and habitat

The small-leaved tea-tree grows in swamps and on rocky creek banks on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales and the Granite Belt of south-east Queensland.

References