''Leptospermum myrsinoides'', commonly known as the heath tea-tree or silky tea-tree, is a species of shrub 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 continental Australia. It has smooth bark on the younger stems, narrow egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, white flowers and fruit that has the remains of the sepals attached but usually falls from the plant soon after the seeds are released.

Description

''Leptospermum myrsinoides'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of . The older stems have stems with thin, firm bark and younger stems smooth bark that is hairy at first and later shed in stringy strips. The leaves are linear to narrow egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide, tapering to a very short petiole. The flowers are usually borne singly, sometimes in pairs on short side shoots, and are white wide and white. There are broad 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 at the base of the flower bud but which usually 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 about long on a very short

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

and is usually silky-hairy only on the lower half. 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 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 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 less than long. Flowering mainly occurs from October to November and the fruit is a hemispherical capsule wide with the remains of the sepals attached, but which fall from the plant soon after the seeds are released.

Taxonomy and naming

''Leptospermum myrsinoides'' was first formally described in 1847 by German botanist Diederich von Schlechtendal in the journal ''Linnaea: ein Journal für die Botanik in ihrem ganzen Umfange, oder Beiträge zur Pflanzenkunde''.

Distribution and habitat

The heath tea-tree grows in heath and mallee from Eden on the far south coast of New South Wales to the

Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and ...

and

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

and is widespread in Victoria.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q768384 myrsinoides Myrtales of Australia Flora of South Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state) Plants described in 1847