Leptospermum
Credits
Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles
Recommended citation
'Leptospermum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Family
- Myrtaceae
Editorial Note
The extent of changes in nomenclature, and to the wider taxonomy of Leptospermum, makes it difficult at times to reconcile Bean’s account of the family with modern treatments. A full, revised account of the genus will be provided when funding is available. If you would like to sponsor the work please write to editor@treesandshrubsonline.org.
A genus of some thirty species of evergreen, small trees or shrubs mostly natives of Australia but found also in New Zealand, New Caledonia, and the Malay Archipelago. The leaves are small, alternate, entire. Flowers solitary or in pairs or threes; petals five, spreading; stamens numerous; seed-vessel woody. Provided they are grown in a climate sufficiently mild, they are of easy cultivation, but none is genuinely hardy in the average climate of Britain, Leptospermum is from the Greek and refers to the small seeds.
