''Leptospermum trinervium'', commonly known as flaky-barked tea-tree, slender tea-tree or paperbark tree, is a species of shrub or small tree 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 eastern Australia. It has papery bark that is shed in thin, flaking layers, narrow elliptic to broadly egg-shaped leaves with the narrower at the base, white flowers and silky-hairy fruit that falls from the plant when mature.

Description

''Leptospermum trinervium'' is a shrub or small tree that typically grows to a height of and has papery bark that is shed in thin, flaking strips. The leaves are narrow elliptical to broadly egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide, the tip usually blunt and the base tapering to a short petiole. The flowers are white, about wide and arranged singly or in pairs on the ends of short side shoots. 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 densely covered with silky hairs, about long tapering to a

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 ...

of variable length. 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 also hairy, oblong to triangular, about long, the five petals 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 mostly occurs from September to October near the coast and from November to December on the tablelands. The fruit is a capsule wide with the remains of the sepals attached and that falls the plant at maturity.

Taxonomy

This tea-tree was first described in 1790 by

James Edward Smith James Edward Smith may refer to: * James Edward Smith (botanist), English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society * James Edward Smith (murderer), American murderer * James Edward Smith (politician), Canadian businessman and mayor of Toronto * ...

who gave it the name ''Melaleuca'' ? ''trinervia'' and published the description in John White's ''Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales''.

Distribution and habitat

Flaky-barked tea-tree mainly grows in forest but is also found in heath and scrub, especially among sandstone rocks. It occurs on the coast and tablelands south from

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

in Queensland through eastern New South Wales to near coastal scrubland and woodland in far eastern Victoria.

Use in horticulture

''Leptospermum trinervium'' is a hardy, although not showy plant, the bark being its most unusual feature. It can be propagated from seed or from cuttings and is frost hardy.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4460550 trinervium Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (Australia) Plants described in 1790 Taxa named by James Edward Smith