Australian Native Plants

  Leptospermum continentale (Prickly Tea-tree)


Leptospermum continentale photo
Leptospermum Continentale (Prickly Tea Tree) in the Grampians National Park in Victoria,

Photograph by Jeancarroll. Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Leptospermum continentale photo
Leptospermum continentale, Bull Creek, Shackle Road, Flinders Chase National Park, Kangaroo Island, South Australia

Photograph by John Jennings from Adelaide. Some rights reserved.    (view image details)



Growth Characteristics information is sourced from: State Flora Catalog, Government of South Australia Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license.



PRICKLY TEA-TREE FACTS

distribution map showing range of Leptospermum continentale in Australia

Map is from The Atlas of Living Australia web site, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License


Common Name
Prickly Tea-tree

Description
The Prickly Tea-tree is a shrub growing to 2 m tall (sometimes more). The leaves are narrow and sharp pointed, growing about 1 cm long and 1 mm to 3 mm wide. Flowers are produced in late spring to early summer from October and January. Each flower is white with 5 petals and about 10 mm in diameter. The fruit capsules are about 6 mm to 7 mm in diameter.

Habitat
forest, swampy soils

Distribution
Prickly Tea-tree is found in eastern New South Wales from central coast southwards, Victoria, south east South Australia.

Growth Characteristics
Height (m): 1.5 - 4
Spread (m): 2 - 4
Soil Texture: sand, loam, clay
Soil pH: acid soils, neutral soils
Frost Sensitivity: resistant
Minimum Rainfall (mm): 500
Flower Colour: white
Flower Season: spring, summer

(source: SA State Flora Catalog)



Classification
Class:Magnoliopsida
Order:Myrtales
Family:Myrtaceae
Genus:Leptospermum
Species:continentale
Common Name:Prickly Tea-tree


Relatives in same Genus
  Leptospermum brachyandrum
  Leptospermum coriaceum
  Leptospermum erubescens
  Leptospermum grandiflorum
  Leptospermum laevigatum
  Leptospermum lanigerum
  Leptospermum liversidgei
  Leptospermum macrocarpum
  Leptospermum morrisonii
  Leptospermum myrsinoides
  Leptospermum nitidum
  Leptospermum obovatum
  Leptospermum petersonii
  Leptospermum polygalifolium
  Leptospermum rotundifolium
  Leptospermum rupestre
  Leptospermum scoparium
  Leptospermum spectabile
  Leptospermum squarrosum
  Leptospermum turbinatum