Coastal Tea Tree Doug Beckers/Flickr

Coastal Tea Tree

Did You Know?

Commonly known as the tea tree as early European settlers used the leaves as a tea substitute

Its genus name Leptospermum is from Greek leptos (thin) and sperma (seed), referring to its small seeds; and its species name laevigatum is from Latin laevigatus (smooth), probably referring to the appearance of the plant.

Also known as Australian Myrtle and Victorian Tea Tree.

A tall, bushy shrub or small tree, with bark that sheds in strips. Grows up to 6 m tall.

Leaves

Grey-green and obovate (egg-shaped and flat, with the narrow end attached to the stalk). They are 1.5 – 3 cm long and 5 – 8 mm wide.

Flowers

White and usually in groups of two. The flower heads are usually 1.5 – 2 cm in diameter, and made up of five petals that are 5 – 8 mm long, with many stamens protruding from the centre that are 2 mm long.

Fruits/Seeds

Fruit in the form of woody capsules which are flat-topped and 15 – 20 mm in diameter. They have fleshy outer surfaces and contain many seeds which are winged to facilitate wind dispersion.

Field Guide

Improve your identification skills. Download your Coastal Tea Tree field guide here!

What to Observe

First fully open single flower
Full flowering (record all days)
End of flowering (when 95% of the flowers have faded)
Open seed pods/fruits (record all days)

When and Where

When To Look

From late winter through spring
Flowers appear from August to October
Fruits appear after flowers

Where To Look

In coastal heath and occasionally dry forest, on sand, dunes and coastal cliffs (particularly around Sydney)
In coastal areas from Nambucca Heads on NSW north coast, south through Victoria and into northern Tasmania
It has become naturalised and is an environmental weed in south-east Queensland, north-east NSW, south-east South Australia, and southern Western Australia, where it has been used for dune stabilisation or planted after sand mining

What Else?

Similar Species

Another species of Leptospermum won’t have the same flower and fruit characters.

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