Leptospermum brevipes



Leptospermum brevipes, commonly known as the slender tea-tree, is a species of shrub or small tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has fibrous bark on the main stems, smooth bark on young stems, narrow elliptical to narrow egg-shaped leaves, white flowers and hemispherical fruit that is shed when mature.

Description
Leptospermum brevipes is a shrub or small tree that typically grows to 4 m high. The bark on its larger stems is rough but young stems have smooth bark that is shed in stringy strips and have a flange near the base of the petiole. The leaves are narrow elliptical to narrow egg-shaped, 6-25 mm long, 2-4.5 mm wide, hairy at first but become glabrous. The flowers are borne singly or in pairs in leaf axils and are 6-8 mm in diameter on a pedicel 2-8 mm long. The floral cup is hairy and about 2 mm long. The sepals are triangular, silky hairy and about 1 mm long. The petals are white, 3-4 mm long and the stamens are about 1 mm long. Flowering occurs from October to December and the fruit is a silky-hairy, hemispherical capsule 3-4 mm in diameter with the sepals attached and that is shed when mature.

Taxonomy and naming
Leptospermum brevipes was first formally described in 1855 by Ferdinand von Mueller in his book Definitions of rare or hitherto undescribed Australian plants. The specific epithet (brevipes) is a Latin word meaning "short-footed".

Distribution and habitat
Slender tea-tree grows in woodland and shrubland, usually on rocky granite outcrops and near rocky streams. It occurs from the Granite Belt in south-eastern Queensland, mostly along the tablelands of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory to eastern Victoria.