''Leptospermum myrtifolium'', commonly known as the myrtle tea-tree or grey tea-tree, 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 . 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, long and wide, tapering to a thin petiole about long. The flowers are borne singly, sometimes in pairs, on short side shoots, and are white and wide. 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 fall off well before the flower opens. The floral cup is mostly glabrous, long on a thin pedicel about long. The sepals are broadly egg-shaped, 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 long. Flowering mainly occurs from January to February and the fruit is a hemispherical capsule wide that remains on the plant until it dies.

Taxonomy and naming

''Leptospermum myrtifolium'' was first formally described in 1825 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in his book '' Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis'' from an unpublished description by Franz Sieber. 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 ...

(''myrtifolium'') is from Latin words meaning " myrtle-leaved".

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.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15368094 myrtifolium Myrtales of Australia Flora of the Australian Capital Territory Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state) Plants described in 1828