Leptospermum

J. R. Forster & G. Forster

Char. Gen. Pl. ed. 2, 71, plate 36. 1776. name conserved

Common names: Tea tree
Etymology: Greek leptos, slender or small, and sperma, seed, alluding to form and size
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 10.

Shrubs or small trees, glabrous or pubescent, hairs simple. Leaves alternate; blade venation parallelodromous, faint, often with visible midvein, sometimes also 2–4 veins arising from base, arching to apex. Inflorescences 1–3-flowered, axillary, flowers solitary or clustered. Flowers 5-merous, subsessile; hypanthium mostly widely cup-shaped; calyx lobes distinct; petals white [pink or red]; stamens 15–35, about as long as perianth; ovary [2–]6–12-locular; style equaling or shorter than stamens; ovules [6–]15[–28] per locule. Fruits capsules, brown or gray, obconic to broadly bowl-shaped, woody, opening apically. Seeds numerous, obovoid to irregular-linear, flattened, 1–2.5 mm; seed coat reticulate or striate.

Distribution

Introduced; California, Australasia.

Discussion

Species ca. 70 (1 in the flora).

Selected References

None.

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