''Leptospermum polygalifolium'' subsp. ''montanum'' known as the mountain tea tree or tantoon is a shrub or small tree found in eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The original specimen was collected in 1912 near

Yarrowitch Yarrowitch is a small rural locality on the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the picturesque Yarrowitch River Valley on the Oxley Highway 48 kilometres east of Walcha. The settlement is included in the W ...

. This plant is a sub-species of the Tantoon of the Myrtle family. It resembles other plants commonly referred to as "tea trees" or "paperbarks". The sub-species term ''montanum'' refers to its habitat of high altitudes. ''Polygalifolium'' is derived from Latin, referring to the resemblance of the leaves to certain members of the Polygala.

Habitat

It grows at the heads of mountain streams, or in rocky areas within crevices with shallow soils, often derived from

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

. Usually seen in relatively fire free areas at high altitude in

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s or rainforest margins north of the

Barrington Tops Barrington Tops is part of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales, Australia, between Gloucester and Scone. In 1934, the area was difficult to access and was described as being "not traceable to any man-made feature". Part of the area has ...

region. The most northerly recording is at

Mount Cordeaux Mount Cordeaux is a mountain near Brisbane, Australia and rises 1,135 m. It lies to the immediate north of Cunninghams Gap in the Main Range National Park. It is known to the Aboriginal People as Niamboyoo, however, the meaning is unknown. It ...

Description

Usually seen as a shrub, one to seven metres tall. Though at Mount Hyland Nature Reserve it grows to 25 metres tall and a stem diameter of 56 cm. The trunk is not regular, with vertical flutings, particularly near the base. Bark is papery on older trees, greyish or pale brown. New branchlets are thin with soft silky hairs. Leaves are alternate on the stem, 10 to 15 mm long, 3 to 5 mm wide, usually with a blunt point. Leaf margins curl over, dark green above, paler below the leaf. Silky hairs appear on the young leaves. Leaves are reverse

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

to elliptic in shape. Leaf stems short or indistinct. Oil dots easily noticed under a lens. Only the midrib is visible on the bottom surface of the leaf. Single white flowers form from October to January, 12 mm in diameter. The

hypanthium 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 around 3.5 mm 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 around 2 mm long. The fruit is a grey hemispherical capsule with a flat base, 6 to 9 mm in diameter. The capsule stalk is 2 to 3 mm long. When opening, the capsule reveals five widely spreading valves. Fruit matures from October to April.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6528380 polygalifolium subsp. montanum Trees of Australia Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Plant subspecies Taxa named by Joy Thompson