Kunzea amathicola

Detailed description

Shrubs or trees up to 15 m tall; heterophyllous. Those with persistent juvenile foliage mostly present in exposed conditions and unstable habitats, or at the margins of adult stands, usually forming domed, spreading shrubs up to 2 × 3 m with numerous erect to ascending, often interwoven branches; those with adult foliage forming single to multi-trunked trees up to 18 × 8 m, with very broad, spreading canopies. Trunk 1–2, 0.10–0.85 m d.b.h. Bark grey or grey-brown, ± elongate, tessellated, firmly attached, detaching basally with age, and peeling upwards along trunk in broad, tabular strips. Branches numerous, erect to suberect not spreading, often interwoven, arching and spreading; branchlets numerous, slender, branchlet indumentum copious, persistent; hairs silky, antrorse-appressed, usually flexuose, 0.23–0.50 mm long. Leaves sessile to shortly petiolate, well-spaced to crowded along branchlets, dark glossy green above, paler beneath. Juvenile lamina 2.4–5.3 × 1.2–2.3 mm, ovate, broadly ovate, rhomboid to obovate, adult lamina 6.0–12.5 × 1.8–3.8 mm, oblong, oblong-obovate, broadly oblanceolate to broadly lanceolate; apex of both juvenile and adult lamina obtuse, rounded to subacute, rostrate, base attenuate to narrowly attenuate; lamina margin completely obscured by a dense covering of antrorse-appressed hairs aligned in a thick, up to 0.6 mm wide, white, plumose band meeting with abaxial midrib hairs at the leaf apex. Inflorescence usually a well-spaced, elongate, 5–20-flowered botryum up to 200 mm long. Inflorescence axis densely invested with silky, antrorse-appressed, weakly flexuose hairs. Pherophylls persistent, foliose, spreading, dark glossy green, oblong, oblong-obovate, broadly obovate to elliptic; strongly recurved, to about half of total length or flat; juvenile lamina 2.0–5.3 × 1.2–2.3 mm, adult lamina 4.1–6.0 × 1.6–3.1 mm; apex obtuse, cuspidate, base attenuate; lamina margin obscured by dense covering of antrorse-appressed hairs. Pedicels 1.3–4.9 mm long, sparsely to densely invested in antrorse-appressed, weakly flexuose, silky hairs. Flower buds pyriform to hemispherical, apex usually flat or weakly domed prior to bud burst; calyx valves not meeting. Flowers 6.8–12.5 mm diameter. Hypanthium 1.9–4.0 × 3.0–5.6 mm, dark green or red-green; broadly obconic, turbinate to hemispherical, usually densely covered in silky, antrorse-appressed hairs, sometimes glabrous. Calyx lobes 5–8, 0.6–1.4 × 0.6–1.8 mm, ovate, ovate-truncate to broadly obtuse, pale green to red-green; margins glabrescent. Receptacle green at anthesis, darkening to crimson after fertilisation. Petals 5–8, 1.8–3.7 × 2.0–4.0 mm, white, orbicular to broadly ovate, apex rounded, margins ± finely and irregularly denticulate or crimped, oil glands colourless. Stamens 38–90, filaments white. Anthers dorsifixed, 0.40–0.60 × 0.20–0.35 mm, ellipsoid, ovoid-ellipsoid or broadly scutiform, latrorse. Pollen white. Anther connective gland either absent or if present prominent, deep golden-yellow to orange when fresh, drying orange to pink, spheroidal, rather finely papillate. Ovary 5–6 locular, each with 23–42 ovules in two rows on each placental lobe. Style 2.0–3.2 mm long at anthesis, white or pinkish-white; stigma broadly capitate, at least 1.5× width of style, flat, greenish-white or pale pink, flushing red after anthesis, surface finely granular-papillate. Fruits 2.4–4.8 × 3.6–6.0 mm, dark green to chesnut-brown maturing grey, broadly obconic, turbinate or hemispherical, rarely broadly cupular; finely hairy to glabrescent. Seeds 1.2–1.7 × 0.3–0.6 mm, oblong, oblong-obovate, narrowly ellipsoid to cylindrical; testa semi-glossy, orange-brown to dark brown; surface coarsely reticulate.