Leptospermum rupestre
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Internal links: Angiosperms > Eudicots > Superrosids > Malvids > Myrtaceae > Leptospermum
External links: Angiosperms > Eudicots > Superrosids > Malvids > Myrtaceae > Leptospermum
Wikipedia links: Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids > Myrtaceae > Leptospermum
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Common name: unknown
Conservation status: unknown
Etymology:
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Australia:
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Leptospermum rupestre, commonly known as alpine tea-tree or prostrate tea-tree,[2] is a flowering shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. It is endemic to Tasmania. 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. The growth habit varies, at higher exposed altitudes it is a prostrate plant up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) high. At lower altitudes it can become a large shrub to 4 m (13 ft) high. It has small, blunt, shiny dark green, oval to elliptic shaped leaves, 2–9 mm (0.079–0.354 in) long. The white flowers are small 1 cm (0.39 in) 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 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter.[3][4][5]
Taxonomy and naming
Leptospermum rupestre was first formally described in 1840 by botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker and the description was published in Icones Plantarum.[6][7] Robert Brown observed it growing on rocky outcrops on Mount Wellington and nearby mountains. The word rupestre is derived from the Latin word rupestris,[8] meaning rocky, referring to the habitat where it was found.[6]
Distribution and habitat
This species is endemic to Tasmania, found growing in a sunny situation on light to medium soils.[2]