''Leptospermum inelegans'' is a species of straggly shrub that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to Western Australia. It has only partly hairy young stems, egg-shaped to narrow elliptical leaves on a short petiole, relatively small white or pink flowers and fruit that fall from the plant when mature.

Description

''Leptospermum inelegans'' is a straggly shrub that typically grows to a height of with thin, rough bark on the older branches and younger stems that are only partly hairy. The leaves are egg shaped to narrow elliptical, mostly long and wide. The flowers are white or pink, wide and are usually borne singly on short side shoots. The

floral cup In angiosperms, a hypanthium or floral cup is a structure where basal portions of the calyx, the corolla, and the stamens form a cup-shaped tube. It is sometimes called a floral tube, a term that is also used for corolla tube and calyx tube. It of ...

is long and is covered with flattened silky hairs on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

up to long. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s are triangular, about long, the

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

s about long and the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s less than long. Flowering mainly occurs from September to November and the fruit is a capsule long with the remains of the sepals attached, but that falls from the plant after the release of the seeds.

Taxonomy and naming

''Leptospermum inelegans'' was first formally described in 1989 by Joy Thompson in the journal '' Telopea'' from specimens collected by

Roger Hnatiuk Roger James Hnatiuk (born 1946) is a Canadian-Australian botanist specialising in biogeography and plant ecology. Background Hnatiuk was awarded 1st class honours in botany from the University of Alberta, and went on to graduate with an MSc in ...

. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''inelegans'') is a Latin word meaning "not choice" or "tasteless", referring to the usual habit of this species.

Distribution and habitat

This tea-tree is usually found in scrub or heath on hills and undulating plains and occurs in parts of the Coolgardie,

Esperance Plains Esperance Plains, also known as Eyre Botanical District, is a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia on the south coast between the Avon Wheatbelt and Hampton bioregions, and bordered to the north by the Mallee region. It is ...

and Mallee

biogeographic regions A biogeographic realm or ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivided into ecoregions. De ...

Conservation status

''Leptospermum inelegans'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and en ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15369119 inelegans Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1989 Taxa named by Joy Thompson