''Leptospermum rupestre'', commonly known as alpine tea-tree or prostrate tea-tree, is a flowering shrub in the myrtle family,

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

. It 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 ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. In alpine areas it assumes a prostrate habit while in subalpine areas it appears as a large shrub.

Description

''Leptospermum rupestre'' is a common alpine and subalpine shrub in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. The growth habit varies, at higher exposed altitudes it is a prostrate plant up to high. At lower altitudes it can become a large shrub to high. It has small, blunt, shiny dark green, oval to elliptic shaped leaves, long. The white flowers are small wide, 5 petalled, with an open habit and flower in profusion in leaf axils during summer. The reddish branches become mat-forming over rocks. The small seed capsules are about in diameter.

Taxonomy and naming

''Leptospermum rupestre'' was first formally described in 1840 by botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker and the description was published in ''

Icones Plantarum ''Icones Plantarum'' is an extensive series of published volumes of botanical illustration, initiated by Sir William Jackson Hooker. The Latin name of the work means "Illustrations of Plants". The illustrations are drawn from herbarium specimens o ...

''. Robert Brown observed it growing on rocky outcrops on Mount Wellington and nearby mountains. The word ''rupestre'' is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''rupestris'', meaning rocky, referring to the habitat where it was found.

Distribution and habitat

This species is endemic to Tasmania, found growing in a sunny situation on light to medium soils.

Cultivation

It is one of the hardiest species of its genus and is suitable for cultivation outdoors.Dawson, M. (2012)
"Australian ''Leptospermum'' in cultivation: species and cultivars."
NZ Garden J, 15, 14-22.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1529736 rupestre Myrtales of Australia Endemic flora of Tasmania Plants described in 1810 Taxa named by Joseph Dalton Hooker