''Leptospermum subtenue'' is a species of small shrub in the 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 ...

and 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 Western Australia. It has thick, elliptical, concave leaves, white or pink flowers and fruit that falls from the plant when mature. It occurs to the south of

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

Description

''Leptospermum subtenue'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of . It has thin, rough bark and thin young stems that are silky hairy at first, soon

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 ...

. The leaves are thick, concave, elliptical long and wide, tapering to a thin petiole. The flowers are white or pink, up to wide and are borne singly or in pairs on the ends of long, thin side branches. 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 dark-coloured and hairy, about long, tapering tp a 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 ...

. 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 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 about long and the stamens about long. Flowering mainly occurs from August to October.

Taxonomy

''Leptospermum subtenue'' was first formally described in 1989 by

Joy Thompson (botanist) Joy Thompson (born Joy Gardiner-Garden, 1923, died 2018) was an Australian botanist. Her main research areas were taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and Myrtaceae. Life & Career Thompson's university studies occurred during the second world war and i ...

in the journal '' Telopea'' from specimens collected by Cecil Andrews, north of Esperance in 1903.

Distribution and habitat

This teatree is found in the Goldfields-Esperance region of

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 ...

between Coolgardie and Esperance where it grows in lateritic soils.

Conservation status

This leptospermum is listed as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15369120 subtenue Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1989 Taxa named by Joy Thompson