''Leptospermum epacridoideum'' is a species of plant that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to a restricted area of the

South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

of New South Wales. It is a bushy shrub with compact bark, elliptical to more or less circular leaves, white flowers arranged singly on short axillary side shoots, and woody fruit.

Description

''Leptospermum epacridoideum'' is a bushy, more or less erect shrub that typically grows to a height of . The younger stems are thick and covered with tiny, fine hairs. The leaves are broadly elliptical to more or less circular, long and about wide on a short, thick petiole. The flowers are white or pink, usually borne singly on short side branches, and are about in diameter. There are reddish brown

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s and

bracteoles In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

around the base of the flower. The

floral cup In angiosperms, a hypanthium or floral cup is a structure where basal portions of the calyx, the corolla, and the stamens form a cup-shaped tube. It is sometimes called a floral tube, a term that is also used for corolla tube and calyx tube. It ...

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

and about long. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s are long-triangular, about long with soft hairs. The

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are about long and the stamens are in bundles of between five and seven and are about long. Flowering mainly occurs from February to March and the fruit is a

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

, woody capsule that eventually falls off.

Taxonomy

''Leptospermum epacridoideum'' was formally described in 1919 by

Edwin Cheel Edwin Cheel (14 February 1872 – 19 September 1951) was an Australian botanist and collector. Before being appointed as a staff member of Centennial Park in 1897 he was a gardener in New South Wales and Queensland. Later he transferred to the R ...

in the '' Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales'', originally incorrectly as ''Leptospermum epacridioideum''.

Distribution and habitat

This tea-tree grows in forest and heath on sandstone in the area around

Jervis Bay Jervis Bay () is a oceanic bay and village on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, said to possess the whitest sand in the world. A area of land around the southern headland of the bay is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15368101 epacridoideum Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1919