Abstract
The genus Leptospermum is a member of the family Myrtaceae, which is subdivided into a number of tribes. The Leptospermeae contains genera in which the ovary generally is divided into two to five cells. The capsules open by partitions visible at the apex of the fruit, and contain one or two seeds. Rarely, the capsules fail to open. The leaves (which are rarely more than a few centimeters long) show an alternate arrangement which separates Leptospermum and some other genera from a minority of plants in which the leaves are opposite (Bentham and Mueller 1866; Thompson 1989; Bean 1992). The flowers are bisexual and the ovary is inferior, that is, attached below the plane where the petals and sepals are attached. The petals (five and spreading to form a flat flower) and sepals (five and not awned) are arranged alternately in rings at the upper edge of the calyx tube. A centrally placed, erect and undivided stylet is present. The stamens are erect, numerous and arranged at the periphery of the thalamus in a single ring, and are not longer, or are scarcely longer, than the petals. The capsule contains two or three and usually five chambers (Blombery 1967; Garnet 1967; Thompson 1989; Bean 1992).
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© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Shipton, W.A., Jackes, B.R. (1996). Leptospermum Species (Tea Trees). In: Bajaj, Y.P.S. (eds) Trees IV. Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry, vol 35. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-10617-4_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-10617-4_12
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