Leptospermum myrtifolium
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'Leptospermum myrtifolium' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Synonyms
- Leptospermum cunninghamii Schauer
Editorial Note
This species, under the name Leptospermum cunninghamii, was treated by Bean as a form of L. lanigerum (‘L. cunninghamii ’is now included without differentiation in L. lanigerum’). This interpretation is no longer accepted, and the entries for these species have been edited to reflect this. The extent of changes in nomenclature – and indeed in the wider taxonomy of Myrtaceae – makes it difficult at times to reconcile Bean’s account of the family with modern treatments. A full, revised account of the hardy Myrtaceae genera will be provided when funding is available. If you would like to sponsor the work please write to editor@treesandshrubsonline.org
This species is represented by plants at Wakehurst Place, Sussex, which derive from one given to Lord Wakehurst by Canon Boscawen of Ludgvan Rectory, Cornwall, about 1930 (Journ. R.H.S., Vol. 88, p. 163). It was received as L. cunninghamii and agrees quite well with it. In this form (which has been widely distributed under the name L. cunninghamii) the young growths are pinkish brown, the leaves grey, small (up to 1⁄2 in. long at the most and usually shorter), from narrowly to broadly obovate; the calyx-tube has rather short silky hairs. The flowering time of this form is usually late July or early August. It is fairly hardy (though it may lose most of its leaves in winter) and fruits abundantly, even excessively.
Lord Talbot de Malahide has in his garden further examples from Tasmania [under the name L. lanigerum], collected in the wild. One, representing the form commonly met with there, resembles the Wakehurst clone but the leaves are narrower, oblong or narrow-obovate. Another, collected near Hobart by Mr Jackson, is of pendulous habit but similar in foliage to the preceding. [Bean mentions a third, fastigiate form, ‘distinct in having the leaves dark green and almost glabrous above’; it is unclear to which species this refers.]