Leptospermum oreophilum, commonly known as the rock tea tree,[1] is a shrub that is endemic to the Glass House Mountains in southern Queensland. It has firm, rough bark on the older stems, elliptical leaves with a short, blunt point on the tip, relatively large white flowers arranged singly on side shoots and fruit that remains on the plant until it dies.
| Rock tea tree | |
|---|---|
| |
| Leptospermum oreophilum near Beerwah | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Leptospermum |
| Species: | L. oreophilum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Leptospermum oreophilum | |
Description
editLeptospermum oreophilum is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 1–2.5 m (3 ft 3 in – 8 ft 2 in) with firm, rough bark on the older stems. Younger stems have minute hairs and a flange near the leaf base. The leaves are elliptical, silky-hairy at first, 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long and 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) wide with a short, blunt tip and tapering at the base but without a petiole. The flowers are borne singly on side shoots and are white and 12–20 mm (0.47–0.79 in) wide. The floral cup is 2.5–4 mm (0.098–0.157 in) long and the sepals are glabrous, almost round and about 3 mm (0.12 in) long. The petals are 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) long and the stamens are about 5 mm (0.20 in) long. Flowering mainly occurs from September to December and the fruit is a capsule 7–10 mm (0.28–0.39 in) in diameter and that remains on the plant at maturity, the remains of the sepals having fallen off.[3]
Taxonomy and naming
editLeptospermum oreophilum was first formally described in 1989 by Joy Thompson in the journal Telopea.[3][4] The specific epithet (oreophilum) is derived from ancient Greek, meaning "mountain-loving", referring to the mountain-top habit of this species.[3][5]
Distribution and habitat
editThis tea-tree grows in shallow soil in rocky places on the Glass House Mountains.[3]
Conservation status
editThis species is classified as "vulnerable" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Species profile—Leptospermum oreophilum". Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- ^ "Leptospermum oreophilum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d Thompson, Joy (1989). "A revision of the genus Leptospermum (Myrtaceae)". Telopea. 3 (3): 404–405.
- ^ "Leptospermum oreophilum". APNI. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- ^ Francis Aubie Sharr (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings. Kardinya, Western Australia: Four Gables Press. p. 267. ISBN 9780958034180.