Woolly Tea-Tree

Woolly Tea-Tree photos

Family: Myrtle (Myrtaceae)

Scientific Name:

Leptospermum lanigerum

Woolly Tea-tree
Photo: A J Brown

Other Common Names:

River Tea-tree, Silky Tea-tree

Status:

Australian native to Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and eastern South Australia.

Plant Description:

Shrub to small tree with close bark. Younger stems softly hairy and new growth often silvery. Leaves oblong to narrow-oblanceolate, 3-15 mm long and 2-4 mm wide, usually recurved with an infolded and blunt apex, softly hairy on the lower surface.

Flowers white, solitary, about 15 mm diameter. Cup densely hairy. Fruit 5-10 mm diameter, woolly at first, becoming scaly afterwards.

Habitat:

Grows in sandy swamps and along water courses in scrub and woodland. Indicative of fresh-water habitats.

Region	Salinity Class	Waterlogging Class
Western, Gippsland	S0	W1, W2, W3

Comments:

There are 80 species of Tea-tree native to Australia and 18 species listed for Victoria. Unlike Paperbarks (Melaleuca spp.), of which a number are salt tolerant, Tea-trees tend to be confined to fresh-water environments and many grow in quite dry habitats. Coast Tea-tree (Leptospermum laevigatum) is tolerant of salt-spray.

Woolly Tea-Tree photos

Woolly Tea-tree fruit Photo: A J Brown	Stem and fruit of Woolly Tea-tree Photo: A J Brown
Woolly Tea-tree leaves Photo: A J Brown

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