''Leptospermum macrocarpum'' is a species of 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 the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. It has thin, hard, sometimes gnarled bark on the older stems, broadly elliptical leaves, relatively large white, pink or dark red flowers and large fruit.

Description

''Leptospermum macrocarpum'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of and has thin, rough, sometimes gnarled bark and young stems that are hairy at first. Its leaves are broadly elliptical, mostly long and wide on a short but distinct petiole. The flowers are greenish white, pink or dark red, wide and arranged singly on short side shoots. There are large, broad, reddish brown bracts at the base of the flower buds but these are shed before the flower opens. 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, covered with long silky hairs, 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 broadly egg-shaped to round, 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 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 long. Flowering occurs from October to December and the fruit is a woody capsule wide that is not shed when mature.

Taxonomy and naming

This tea-tree was first formally described in 1898 by

Joseph Maiden Joseph Henry Maiden (25 April 1859 – 16 November 1925) was a botanist who made a major contribution to knowledge of the Australian flora, especially the genus ''Eucalyptus''. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation when citing ...

and

Betche Daniel Ludwig Ernst Betche (31 December 1851, in Potsdam – 28 June 1913, in Sydney) was a German-Australian horticulturist and botanist. His mother died at his birth and he was of delicate constitution all his life. His father was sufficient ...

who gave it the name ''Leptospermum lanigerum'' var. ''macrocarpum'' and published the description in the ''

Linnean Society of New South Wales The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales ( Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. History The Society suc ...

'' from specimens collected by Jesse Gregson on Mt Tomah in 1897. In 1989, Joy Thompson raised the variety to species status as ''Leptospermum macrocarpum''. 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 ...

(''macrocarpum'') is derived from the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

words (), meaning 'long', and (), meaning 'fruit'.Backer, C.A. (1936). ''Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten'' (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs).

Distribution and habitat

''Leptospermum macrocarpum'' grows in heath or forest on exposed sandstone in the Blue Mountains.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15368636 macrocarpum Myrtales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1898 Taxa named by Joseph Maiden Taxa named by Ernst Betche