Leptospermum arachnoides



Leptospermum arachnoides, commonly known as the spidery tea-tree, is a species of shrub that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough bark, crowded linear to lance-shaped leaves with a sharp point on the end, white flowers and hairy fruit.

Description
Leptospermum arachnoides is a slender, spreading shrub that typically grows to 1-2 m high and 1.5 m wide and has rough, peeling, flaky bark. The leaves are linear to lance-shaped or elliptical, mostly 10-20 mm long, 1-3 mm wide, concave in cross-section, with a sharp point on the end and on a very short but broad petiole. The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils and are 8-10 mm in diameter with a hairy floral cup about 2 mm long. The sepals are about 2 mm long and hairy, the petals about 4 mm long and white, the stamens are about 2 mm long. Flowering occurs from November to January and the fruit is a hairy capsule 5-8 mm in diameter.

Taxonomy and naming
Leptospermum arachnoides was first formally described in 1788 by Joseph Gaertner in his book De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum. The specific epithet (‘’arachnoides’’) is derived from Latin, meaning "resembling a spider".

Distribution and habitat
Spidery tea-tree grows in moist heath and sclerophyll forest, usually on shallow soils derived from sandstone and granite. It occurs between south-east Queensland and the Tinderry Range in New South Wales.