Leaves alternate, usually small and ± rigid, margins entire; often aromatic when crushed, occasionally lemon-scented; sessile to shortly petiolate.
Flowers solitary or in clusters of 2–several; sessile in axils of bracts on condensed shoots. Flowers 5-merous. Hypanthium obtuse or tapered at the base. Sepals imbricate, sometimes persistent. Petals spreading, white, pink or red, not persistent. Stamens numerous, usually shorter than petals, in 5 bundles opposite the petals but appearing free; anthers opening by slits, with a gland near the connective. Ovary mostly 3–5-locular; placentation axile and usually just above the middle of the central axis; ovules few to numerous; style simple, usually with the base inset; stigma entire or ± lobed.
Fruit a rigid or woody capsule, usually 3–5-valved; seeds ± ovoid, reticulate and occasionally ridged or winged, or irregularly linear and striate.
| | Key to the species | |
| 1 | Fruit either not woody or if ± woody then the valves not woody; usually shed soon or at most before the following season; seeds ovoid-cuneiform with the surface reticulate | 3 |
| Fruit woody, woody-valved and usually persisting beyond the following season; seeds irregularly linear or linear-cuneiform with the surface longitudinally striate | 2 |
| 2 | Sepals developing a line of dehiscence and falling, though tardily so in a few species; stem flanges present or absent | 21 |
| Sepals persistent; stem flanges absent
Back to 1 | 40 |
| 3 | Flowers on the flowering shoot >2; fruit loculi | 4 |
| Flowers on the flowering shoot 1 or 2; fruit loculi 3 or variably 3–5 or more
Back to 1 | 7 |
| 4 | Leaves usually <5 mm wide, tapering to a narrow base | 5 |
| Leaves usually 5–10 mm wide, broad-based
Back to 3 | Leptospermum speciosum |
| 5 | Hypanthium glabrous or almost so; leaves linear-lanceolate, mostly 20–50 mm long and 2–4 mm wide | Leptospermum brachyandrum |
| Hypanthium hairy, pubescent or silky; leaves narrow- to broad-elliptic or obovate, mostly <25 mm long and 3–5 mm wide
Back to 4 | 6 |
| 6 | Leaves 10–30 mm long, elliptic to narrow-elliptic; north from Coffs Harbour | Leptospermum whitei |
| Leaves 4–8 mm long, obovate to broad-elliptic; confined to CT
Back to 5 | Leptospermum blakelyi |
| 7 | Fruit loculi usually >5; many seeds winged | 8 |
| Fruit loculi 5 or less; seeds not winged
Back to 3 | 9 |
| 8 | Leaves light yellowish green, usually 10–20 mm long and 3–5 mm wide, obtuse, acute or acuminate; fruit usually 4–7-locular | Leptospermum coriaceum |
| Leaves usually grey-green, 15–30 mm long, 5–8 mm wide, and broadly obtuse; fruit usually 6–11-locular
Back to 7 | Leptospermum laevigatum |
| 9 | Sepals very short-triangular, c. 0.5 mm long; leaves 5–10 mm long and 1–3 mm wide with the apex tending to recurve | Leptospermum myrsinoides |
| Sepals, if triangular, ≥1 mm long; leaves various
Back to 7 | 10 |
| 10 | Fruit succulent (coarsely wrinkled when dry); hypanthium silky with the upper part spreading widely and often glabrous; leaves mostly 5–10 mm long, 1.5–2.5 mm wide and thick | Leptospermum semibaccatum |
| Fruit not succulent; hypanthium variously hairy or glabrous; leaves various
Back to 9 | 11 |
| 11 | Fruit with the placenta low and the valves extended upward; leaves to c. 8 mm long, thick, obtuse and petiolate | Leptospermum parvifolium |
| Fruit not as above; leaves if <10 mm not thick, obtuse and petiolate
Back to 10 | 12 |
| 12 | Bark in many flaky layers even on leafy branches | 13 |
| Bark compact, fibrous, smooth or ultimately flaking but not in many flaky layers
Back to 11 | 14 |
| 13 | Hypanthium densely pubescent with spreading or short hairs (variable according to the population), rarely glabrous, upper part of the hypanthium not incurved; leaves mostly 10–20 mm long, 1–6 mm wide (breadth often uniform within the population) | Leptospermum trinervium |
| Hypanthium glabrous or densely silky at base, the upper part incurved over the edge of the fruit; leaves usually 15–25 mm long and 3–7 mm wide
Back to 12 | Leptospermum subglabratum |
| 14 | Hypanthium mostly glabrous but sometimes silky at the base; filaments often with spreading hairs | 15 |
| Hypanthium variously hairy, sometimes with the upper part glabrescent; filaments glabrous
Back to 12 | 16 |
| 15 | Hypanthium turgid; leaves mostly elliptic, 10–25 mm long, 2–4 mm wide and petiolate | Leptospermum polyanthum |
| Hypanthium thin; leaves narrow-elliptic to oblanceolate, 10–15 mm long and 1–2 mm wide, sessile
Back to 14 | Leptospermum deanei |
| 16 | Apex of leaves with a conspicuous pungent point, the leaves subtending the flowering shoots infolded or incurved, and reflexed | 17 |
| Apex of leaves obtuse or acute but if somewhat pointed not conspicuously so and with the leaves subtending the flowering shoots not infolded, incurved and reflexed
Back to 14 | 18 |
| 17 | Sepals somewhat acute and triangular; fruit usually 3-locular | Leptospermum divaricatum |
| Sepals obtuse, oblong or semicircular; fruit mostly 4-locular
Back to 16 | Leptospermum microcarpum |
| 18 | Leaf bud of flowering shoots developing prematurely so that flowers are found at the base of shoots or even branched shoots, the branching at c. 60° | 19 |
| Leaf bud of flowering shoots developing with or shortly after the flowers; the branching <40°
Back to 16 | 20 |
| 19 | Pedicels >5 mm long; leaves silky only on base and margins; in the Lithgow area, CT | Leptospermum blakelyi |
| Pedicels c. 1 mm long; leaves usually silvery silky on both surfaces; confined to the Scabby Ra., ST
Back to 18 | Leptospermum namadgiensis |
| 20 | Fruit 3-locular, style base scarcely inset, pedicel c. 1 mm long; leaves <10 mm long, 1–3 mm wide, apex usually acute to acuminate | Leptospermum multicaule |
| Fruit usually 5-locular, style inset, pedicel 2–10 mm long; leaves mostly >10 mm long, usually 2–5 mm wide, apex obtuse to short-acuminate
Back to 18 | Leptospermum brevipes |
| 21 | Hypanthium with a tapered base and pedicel often 3–4 mm long; leaves usually 20–30 mm long and 3–7 mm wide, apex retuse | Leptospermum emarginatum |
| Hypanthium base broad or if narrowed pedicel c. 1 mm long; leaves various
Back to 2 | 22 |
| 22 | Leaves incurved in cross section and pungent-pointed; style stout and straight-sided with a characteristic relatively large flat stigma | 23 |
| Leaves not both incurved and pungent-pointed, or if so then style tapering and stigma not relatively large
Back to 21 | 27 |
| 23 | Leaves mostly spreading | 24 |
| Leaves erect and rather dense, giving a broom-like appearance to the plant
Back to 22 | 26 |
| 24 | Flowers usually c. 10 mm diam., usually white; produced on new growth; hypanthium tapering near base | 25 |
| Flowers variable, usually 10–20 mm diam., sometimes shorter or longer, often pink; produced on short shoots from older branches; hypanthium rounded at base
Back to 23 | Leptospermum squarrosum |
| 25 | Most leaves >3 mm wide, broadest below the middle and tapering above and below; fruit 6–9 mm diam. | Leptospermum scoparium |
| Most leaves <3 mm wide, broadest at base and tapering upward; fruit 5–7 mm diam.
Back to 24 | Leptospermum continentale |
| 26 | Short and robust shrubs with flowers 10–12 mm diam.; fruit 6–10 mm diam. | Leptospermum rupicola |
| Tall slender shrubs with flowers 6–10 mm diam.; fruit rarely >7 mm diam.
Back to 23 | Leptospermum juniperinum |
| 27 | Anther loculi long and not opening wide | 28 |
| Anther loculi broader than long when open, and opening wide
Back to 22 | 31 |
| 28 | Flowers c. 8 mm diam.; stamens longer than the short petals; leaves dense, obovate and thick, mostly 2–4 mm long, glossy | Leptospermum minutifolium |
| Flowers c. 10 mm or more diam.; stamens shorter than the petals; leaves various but usually >5 mm long and not glossy
Back to 27 | 29 |
| 29 | Bark lifting and flaking; leaves variable but often thick with the surface at least somewhat (often strongly so), incurved in cross section, the apex tapering, acute or acuminate, usually pungent; anther loculi usually parallel | Leptospermum novae-angliae |
| Bark fibrous and ± compact; leaves flat or with the margins somewhat recurved, the apex broad- to narrow-acute or blunt or bluntly rounded, rarely pungent-pointed; anther loculi usually divergent
Back to 28 | 30 |
| 30 | Flowers usually c. 15 mm diam.; leaves mostly 15–35 mm long and 2–8 mm wide, usually with 3 conspicuous longitudinal veins and aromatic | Leptospermum morrisonii |
| Flowers usually c. 10 mm diam.; leaves various but rarely >20 mm long and usually 2–3 mm wide, neither conspicuously 3-veined nor aromatic
Back to 29 | Leptospermum polygalifolium |
| 31 | Fruit much broader than long, with a wide woody rim; leaves dense, usually 5–7 mm long and 1–2 mm wide, lemon-scented | Leptospermum liversidgei |
| Fruit and leaves not as above
Back to 27 | 32 |
| 32 | Bark loosely fibrous, `stringy'; leaves narrow-elliptic to lanceolate, 20–40 mm long and 2–5 mm wide, acute, rounded or retuse and often lemon-scented | Leptospermum petersonii |
| Bark various; leaves various, never lemon-scented
Back to 31 | 33 |
| 33 | Leaves, at least most of them, with a distinct though often short petiole, the apex usually broad, the size and shape various, glabrous or pubescent | 34 |
| Leaves sessile, tapering to the apex, 10–20 mm long, 2–8 mm wide, obovate to oblanceolate to elliptic, glabrous
Back to 32 | 39 |
| 34 | Stamens 4–6 mm long; flowers often pink, usually 20–30 mm diam.; leaves mostly ± circular | Leptospermum rotundifolium |
| Stamens <3.5 mm long; flowers white or almost so, ≤15 mm diam.; leaf shape various
Back to 33 | 35 |
| 35 | Sepals glabrous or with ciliate margins; leaves green and glabrous at least for the most part | 36 |
| Sepals pubescent, at least in part; leaves grey-green and pubescent or ultimately green and glabrous, the young growth grey with a silvery pubescence
Back to 34 | 37 |
| 36 | Stems branching at c. 30°; leaves narrow-oblanceolate to very broad-obovate, apex usually retuse; fruit rounded above a short stalk | Leptospermum obovatum |
| Stems branching at 60° or more; leaves obovate to almost circular, apex usually broadly rounded; fruit base rounded or turbinate
Back to 35 | Leptospermum micromyrtus |
| 37 | Fruit almost globose before opening; stem flanges inconspicuous; leaves mostly obovate, 5–10 mm long and 2–5 mm wide | Leptospermum myrtifolium |
| Fruit broader than long; stem flanges conspicuous; leaves mostly obovate to oblanceolate or broad-obovate to elliptic
Back to 35 | 38 |
| 38 | Hypanthium conspicuously flared in the upper part; leaves very broad-obovate to elliptic, ultimately glabrous but greyish silky on young growth | Leptospermum argenteum |
| Hypanthium not conspicuously flared in the upper part; leaves obovate to oblanceolate, pubescence of young growth soon giving way to short irregular hairs
Back to 37 | Leptospermum gregarium |
| 39 | Stamens c. 2 mm long, style base arising from the surface of the fruit top; leaves thick, with dense prominent glands | Leptospermum sejunctum |
| Stamens 3–4 mm long; style base inset in the fruit top; leaf texture variable
Back to 33 | Leptospermum variabile |
| 40 | Stamens only about half as long as the petals or shorter; seed ≤3 mm long | 41 |
| All stamens more than half as long as the petals; seeds ≥3.5 mm long
Back to 2 | 48 |
| 41 | Fruit valves (at opening) not conspicuously exserted | 42 |
| Fruit valves conspicuously exserted
Back to 40 | 43 |
| 42 | Branches at angles of 60–90°; sepals triangular; leaves incurved from the margins, usually 10–20 mm long and mostly 1–3 mm wide (breadth variable but often uniform within the population), and with a long-tapering pungent-pointed apex | Leptospermum arachnoides |
| Branches at angles of c. 30°; sepals short with the apex broadly rounded; leaves usually flat or with the margins recurved, 10–15 mm long, 4–6 mm wide, the apex blunt or shortly pungent
Back to 41 | Leptospermum thompsonii |
| 43 | Leaves not glossy on both surfaces; if glossy on the upper surface, dull or pubescent below | 44 |
| Leaves glossy on both surfaces
Back to 41 | 46 |
| 44 | Fruit with a distinct short stalk, surface of the valves firm and wrinkled; leaves variable, to 30 mm long, c. 6 mm wide, elliptic, with margins recurved and a densely pubescent lower surface | Leptospermum deuense |
| Fruit sessile, the valve surface lifting and ± flaky; leaves various
Back to 43 | 45 |
| 45 | Bark compact; leaves broadest near, and contracting at, the apex; from 3–15 mm long and usually 2–4 mm wide, usually grey-green, narrow and pubescent on both surfaces | Leptospermum lanigerum |
| Bark peeling; leaves broadest near the middle or if near the apex then tapering to the apex, not grey-green, often broad with the upper surface glossy and the lower shortly pubescent, or narrow, equal sided and glabrous, or with other combinations of these characters
Back to 44 | Leptospermum grandifolium |
| 46 | Apex of leaves acute and pungent; leaves variable in size but usually c. 15 mm long and 5–6 mm wide | Leptospermum petraeum |
| Apex of leaves not pungent, obtuse to acute; leaves 2–8 mm long, 2–4 mm wide
Back to 43 | 47 |
| 47 | Leaves mostly 5–8 mm long, sometimes 5 mm or less, and 3–4 mm wide, apex ± acute; flowers c. 20 mm diam. | Leptospermum crassifolium |
| Leaves 2–3 mm long and c. 2 mm wide, apex obtuse; flowers c. 10 mm diam.
Back to 46 | Leptospermum epacridoideum |
| 48 | Fruit as long as broad, <15 mm diam.; leaves 5–35 mm long, broad- to narrow-elliptic and 2–5 mm wide, apex acute to acuminate | 49 |
| Fruit broader than long, often 15–20 mm diam.; leaves mostly 10–20 mm long and 5–10 mm wide, usually broad-elliptic, apex obtuse or acute with a short stiff point
Back to 40 | Leptospermum macrocarpum |
| 49 | Leaves mostly 5–20 mm, and 2–5 mm wide, broad- to narrow-elliptic, apex acute or long-acute and pungent; flowers white or pink | Leptospermum sphaerocarpum |
| Leaves mostly 20–35 mm long, 3–5 mm wide, narrow-elliptic, apex long-acute or long-acuminate and stiffly pointed; flowers red
Back to 48 | Leptospermum spectabile |
