Home
Calendar
Past Events
About Us
Contact
Membership
Links
Plant Database
Search
Family Index
Communities
Municipalities
Threatened Species
Botanical Glossary
Newsletters
Bush Sounds
Communities
Scientific Name
Leptospermum nitidum
Family Name
MYRTACEAE
Common Name
Shiny Tea-tree
Status
Height
2.0m - 4.0m (200-400cm)
Flowers
White with green centres, to 1.5cm in dia. Petals sometimes flat, sometimes frilled.
Fruit
Woody capsule
Form
Rigid shrub or small tree, erect and much- branched, leaves light shining green.
Municipalities
Burnie; Central Highlands; Derwent Valley; Flinders Island; Huon Valley; Kentish; Launceston; Meander Valley; Northern Midlands; Waratah-Wynyard; West Coast; West Tamar
Communities
Coastal Vegetation; Heath; Riparian; Wet Eucalypt Forest
Habitat Notes
Tas. endemic. Common on button grass plains extending into forests and scrub fringing the plains. Locally abundant in wet heaths from sea level in the south west and west to subalpine on the central plateau. At Cradle Mountain it grows on flat areas and slopes, in alluvial soils or on glacial till. Sea level at Rocky Cape. Not suitable below powerlines.
Site Tolerance
Exposed; Moist; Windy
Frost Tolerance
Hardy
Soil Tolerance
Fertile; Loam; Poor; Poorly-drained; Sandy; Well-drained
General Notes
Resistant to wildlife browsing due to its unpalatability. Flowers on this species are good to spectacular, sometimes petals are flat, sometimes frilled. Not suitable below powerlines.
Propagation Details
Propagation Calendar
Flowering Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Seed Collecting Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Sowing Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Cutting Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Seed Information
Seed Collection
Mature capsule deep cup-shaped nearly 1cm in diameter, wall, scaly, and opening into 5 valves. sepals are retained for some time around rim of fruit. store capsules in paper bags until the very fine seed is released
Seed Treatment Method
Bog method
Seed Storage Life
Long
Viable Seeds Per Gram
500
Seed Treatment Notes
Do not sow too thickly and lightly cover. Capillary watering may be useful due to the fine seed.
Germination Time
14-30 days
Suitable for Direct Seeding
Yes
Cuttings
Expected Time to Take Root
3 weeks
Expected Time to Plant Out
2 years
Propagation by Division
N.B. Transplant only from nearby to avoid disease.
No
Cutting Notes
Grown from cuttings. It is possible to select the preferred form - dense bush to prostrate and altitude preference from coastal to sub-alpine.
Copyright 2000-2009, Understorey Network Incorporated. Updated 2024-12-11
Database development and website design by
Andrew Smith