''Gaudium semibaccatum'' is a species of low, dense 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 elsew ...

to eastern Australia. It has egg-shaped to narrow elliptical leaves with a blunt tip, white or pink flowers and hairy, flat-topped fruit that falls from the plant shortly after the seeds are released. It grows in poorly-drained soil in coastal heath.

Description

''Gaudium semibaccatum'' is a low, dense shrub that typically grows to a height of , sometimes to . It has thin, flaking bark, the young stems hairy, at least at first. The leaves are egg-shaped to narrow elliptical long and mostly wide with a blunt tip and tapering at the base to a short petiole. The flowers are white or pink, mostly wide and arranged singly or in pairs on a short side shoot. There are many reddish brown

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s at the base of the flower bud but which mostly fall off 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 ...

is silky-hairy, 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 b ...

s oblong and about long. The

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

s are 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 filame ...

s long. Flowering mainly occurs from August to October and the fruit is a flat-topped capsule wide and hairy at first. The fruit are shed soon after the seeds are released.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1932 by

Edwin Cheel Edwin Cheel (14 February 1872 – 19 September 1951) was an Australian botanist and collector. Before being appointed as a staff member of Centennial Park in 1897 he was a gardener in New South Wales and Queensland. Later he transferred to the R ...

who gave it the name ''Leptospermum semibaccatum'' in the '' Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales'', from specimens collected by

C.T.White Cyril Tenison ("C.T.") White (17 August 1890 – 15 August 1950) was an Australian botanist. Early life White was born in Brisbane to Henry White, a trade broker, and Louisa ''nee'' Bailey. He attended school at South Brisbane State School, an ...

Moreton Island Moreton Island (Mulgumpin) is an island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay on the coast of South East Queensland, Australia. The Coral Sea lies on the east coast of the island. Moreton Island lies northeast of the Queensland capital, Brisbane. ...

. In 2023,

Peter Gordon Wilson Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

transferred the species to the genus ''Gaudium'' as ''G. parvifolium'' in the journal ''

Taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

''.

Distribution and habitat

This tea-tree grows in sandy soil in poorly drained-coastal heath between

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...

in Queensland and Forster in New South Wales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15368302 semibaccatum Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1932 Taxa named by Edwin Cheel