Leptospermum myrtifolium
{{short description|Australian species of plant}}
{{speciesbox
|name = Myrtle tea-tree
|image = Leptospermum myrtifolium.jpg
|image_caption = Leptospermum myrtifolium in the Molonglo Valley
|genus = Leptospermum
|species = myrtifolium
|authority = Sieber ex DC.{{cite web|title=Leptospermum myrtifolium|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/99507|publisher=Australian Plant Census|accessdate=30 April 2020}}
|synonyms =
- Leptospermum cunninghami S.Schauer orth. var.
- Leptospermum cunninghamii S.Schauer
- Leptospermum pubescens var. parviflorum Domin
- Leptospermum thymifolium A.Cunn. nom. illeg.
}}
File:Leptospermum myrtifolium fruit.jpg
Leptospermum myrtifolium, commonly known as the myrtle tea-tree or grey tea-tree,{{cite web |title=Leptospermum myrtifolium |url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Leptospermum~myrtifolium |publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney |accessdate=30 April 2020}} is a species of shrub that is endemic to south eastern Australia. It has broad egg-shaped to elliptical leaves, white flowers usually borne singly on short side shoots, and fruit that remains on the plant until it dies.
Description
Leptospermum myrtifolium is a shrub that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|1-3|m}}. It has thin, rough bark that is shed in flaky layers on the older stems and young stems that are softly-hairy at first. The leaves are broadly egg-shaped to elliptical, {{cvt|5–10|mm}} long and {{cvt|2–5|mm}} wide, tapering to a thin petiole about {{cvt|1|mm}} long. The flowers are borne singly, sometimes in pairs, on short side shoots, and are white and {{cvt|7–10|mm}} wide. There are broad reddish brown bracts at the base of the flower bud but which fall off well before the flower opens. The floral cup is mostly glabrous, {{cvt|2–3|mm}} long on a thin pedicel about {{cvt|1|mm}} long. The sepals are broadly egg-shaped, about {{cvt|2|mm}} long, the petals {{cvt|3–3.5|mm}} long and the stamens {{cvt|1.5–2|mm}} long. Flowering mainly occurs from January to February and the fruit is a hemispherical capsule {{cvt|4–6|mm}} wide that remains on the plant until it dies.{{cite journal |last1=Thompson |first1=Joy |title=A revision of the genus Leptospermum (Myrtaceae) |journal=Telopea |date=1989 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=409–410}}{{cite web |last1=Lyne |first1=Andrew |title=Leptospermum myrtifolium |url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/e67bc098-7731-4287-866e-ccc306e9bbb3 |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Victoria |accessdate=30 April 2020}}
Taxonomy and naming
Leptospermum myrtifolium was first formally described in 1825 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in his book Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis{{cite book |last1=de Candolle |first1=Augustin Pyramus |title=Prodromus Systematis Naturalis (Volume 3) Regni Vegetabilis |date=1828 |publisher=Sumptibus Sociorum Treuttel et Würtz |location=Paris |page=228 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/7152#page/239/mode/1up |accessdate=1 May 2020}} from an unpublished description by Franz Sieber.{{cite web|title=Leptospermum myrtifolium|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/526080 |publisher=APNI|accessdate=1 May 2020}} The specific epithet (myrtifolium) is from Latin words meaning "myrtle-leaved".{{cite book |author=Francis Aubie Sharr|title=Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings |date=2019 |publisher=Four Gables Press |location=Kardinya, Western Australia |isbn=9780958034180 |page=258}}
Distribution and habitat
Myrtle tea-tree usually grows in poorly-drained soils in woodland, on the edges of high altitude swamps and along rocky creek banks. It occurs south from the Orange district in New South Wales to eastern Victoria.