Leptospermum confertum

Leptospermum confertum is a species of shrub that is endemic to East Mount Barren on the south coast of Western Australia. It has rough bark, crowded narrow club-shaped leaves and white flowers that are pinkish in bud.

Description
Leptospermum confertum is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of 2-3 m or more and has gnarled, firm bark. Young branches are hairy at first and have a small swelling below each leaf base. The leaves are erect and densely crowded, mostly 8-10 mm long and 1-1.5 mm wide, tapering to a petiole about 1.5 mm long. The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils with pale reddish brown bracts and bracteoles at their base. The flowers are white, pinkish in the bud stage, and 12-15 mm wide. The sepals are hemispherical, less than 1 mm long, the petals about 5 m long and the stamens are arranged in groups of about seven and 2 mm long. Flowering occurs between October and January. The fruit is about 8 mm in diameter with an almost flat top and with the sepals attached.

Taxonomy and naming
Leptospermum confertum was first formally described in 1989 by Joy Thompson in the journal Telopea. The specific epithet (confertum) is from the Latin confertus, meaning "close together, crowded or dense", referring to the crowded leaves.

Distribution and habitat
This tea-tree is found on slopes and in rocky gullies along the south coast on East Mount Barren in the Fitzgerald River National Park.

Conservation status
Leptospermum confertum is classified as "Priority Two" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations.