stiff tea tree

Leptospermum arachnoides is a slender, spreading shrub that typically grows to 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) high and 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) wide and has rough, peeling, flaky bark. The leaves are linear to lance-shaped or elliptical, mostly 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) long, 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) wide, concave in cross-section, with a sharp point on the end and on a very short but broad petiole. The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils and are 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) in diameter with a hairy floral cup about 2 mm (0.079 in) long. The sepals are about 2 mm (0.079 in) long and hairy, the petals about 4 mm (0.16 in) long and white, the stamens are about 2 mm (0.079 in) long. Flowering occurs from November to January and the fruit is a hairy capsule 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) in diameter.

Spidery tea-tree grows in moist heath and sclerophyll forest, usually on shallow soils derived from sandstone and granite. It occurs between south-east Queensland and the Tinderry Range in New South Wales.

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