''Leptospermum laevigatum'', commonly known as the coast tea tree, is a species of shrub or small tree 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 south-eastern Australia, but has been widely introduced in other places where it is often considered to be a weed. It has thin, rough bark on the older stems, narrow egg-shaped leaves, relatively large white flowers and flat topped fruit that is shed shortly after reaching maturity.

Description

''Leptospermum laevigatum'' is a bushy shrub or tree that typically grows to a height of and has thin, rough bark on the older stems. The young stems are covered with silky hairs at first and have a groove near the base of the petiole. The leaves are greyish green, narrow egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide on a short petiole. The flowers are borne on short side shoots, usually in pairs of different ages, and are usually wide. There are many 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 around the flower buds but most fall off as the flower opens. 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 ...

is mostly

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 ...

, long with the upper part expanded. 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 triangular, about long, 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 white, long and the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s long. Flowering mainly occurs from August to October and the fruit is a capsule wide with the remains of the sepals initially attached. The fruit mostly fall from the plant shortly after reaching maturity.

Taxonomy and naming

This teatree was first formally described in 1788 by

Joseph Gaertner Joseph Gaertner (12 March 1732 – 14 July 1791) was a German botanist, best known for his work on seeds, ''De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum'' (1788-1792). Biography He was born in Calw, and studied in Göttingen under Albrecht von Haller. ...

who gave it the name ''Fabricia laevigata'' and published the description in his book ''

De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum ''De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum'', also known by its standard botanical abbreviation ''Fruct. Sem. Pl.'', is a three-volume botanic treatise by Joseph Gaertner. The first volume was published in December 1788. The second volume was publishe ...

''. In 1858,

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

changed the name to ''Leptospermum laevigatum''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''laevigatum'') is from a Latin word meaning "made smooth" or "having a polished surface".

Distribution and habitat

''Leptospermum laevigatum'' is native to New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania where it grows in heath, sometimes forest and on coastal dunes and cliffs south from

Nambucca Heads Nambucca Heads is a town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Nambucca Valley. It is located on a ridge, north of the estuary of the Nambucca River near the Pacific Highway. Its 2021 population was 6,675 (6,327 in 2016 ...

in New South Wales to Anglesea in Victoria and northern Tasmania. It has also been introduced to Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and countries overseas including southern Africa, New Zealand, Hawaii and the Central Coast of California.

Ecology

Coast teatree is salt-resistant, very hardy and is commonly used in amenities plantings and coastal plantings. It has also been planted in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

where it has become a weed. This species has been planted along the Central Coast of California in the United States to stabilize

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

. It is known there as the Australian tea tree. The seeds can be dispersed by wind and water. It has now become naturalised in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. The larvae of ''

Holocola thalassinana ''Holocola thalassinana'' is a moth of the family Tortricidae. It is known from Australia. The larvae feed on ''Leptospermum'' species, (including ''Leptospermum laevigatum'') and ''Melaleuca quinquenervia ''Melaleuca quinquenervia'', common ...

'' feed on ''Leptospermum laevigatum''.

Cultivation

''L. laevigatum'' is planted widely as a garden ornamental or display tree. It is useful as a

windbreak A windbreak (shelterbelt) is a planting usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted in hedgerows around the edges ...

or hedging plant and for the rapid stabilisation of sandy soils, and in rehabilitation areas where construction or mining has taken place.

Conservation status

''L. laevigatum'' is not listed on the advisory list of rare or threatened plants in Victoria (2014).

Gallery

File:Leptospermumlaevigatum42195793580 ec9792b069 o.jpg, flower File:Leptospermumlaevigatumfruits38122870352 1f6deebb1e o.jpg, fresh fruits File:Starr-020719-0016-Leptospermum laevigatum-BISH specimen seed capsule-Laie-Oahu (24468312811).jpg, Mature seed capsule

References

External links

Photo gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q722213 laevigatum Flora of New South Wales Flora of South Australia Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (Australia) Myrtales of Australia Halophytes Plants described in 1788 Taxa named by Joseph Gaertner