Kunzea sinclairii

Detailed description

Mostly decumbent, trailing, silvery grey to grey, shrubs up to 3 × 1 m, very rarely forming trees up to 6 m tall; irrespective of stature, branches widely spreading and densely leafy, sometimes rooting on contact with soil or rock. Trunk 1–4, 0.05–0.16 m d.b.h. Bark dark brown to grey-brown, coarsely stringy to tessellated and distinctly corky-coriaceous, usually firmly attached, if detaching, then usually doing so along transverse cracks. Branches numerous, prostrate and widely spreading, new growth subscandent (in tree forms this habit is retained resulting in arching, pendulous branches); branchlets numerous, widely spreading to subscandent, often coarsely interwoven, leaves usually densely crowded along stems; branchlets sericeous, indumentum copious, silky, hairs antrorse-appressed, weakly flexuose up to 0.06 mm long. Leaves heterophyllous, mostly sessile, sometimes shortly petiolate (up to 1.6 mm long). Seedling and juvenile leaves dark green to glaucous, glabrous up to 25.0 × 3.5 mm, oblanceolate to lanceolate, apex acute, base attenuate. Mature leaf lamina 5.6–20.6 × 2.0–4.5 mm, initially silvery-white (due to dense hair covering), maturing silvery-grey to reddish grey (as some hairs are shed); lamina broadly lanceolate, elliptic to obovate, rarely oblong-obovate, apex sharply acute, often cuspidate, base attenuate; hairs of midribs and margins converging at leaf apex. Inflorescence a compact, corymbiform 4–20-flowered botryum 7.0–20.0 mm long; on occasion inflorescences may form elongated botrya on late season vegetative growth. Inflorescence axis densely invested with antrorse-appressed, weakly flexuose, silky hairs. Pherophylls deciduous, rarely present at flowering; foliose pherophylls 1.0–1.2 × 0.2–0.4 mm, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, very rarely broadly spathulate, cuspidate, copiously invested in sericeous, antrorse-appressed hairs; squamiform pherophylls 0.3–1.0 × 0.4–0.8 mm, broadly to narrowly ovate or lanceolate, apex acute, subacute to obtuse, margins finely ciliate. Pedicels 2.8–7.3 mm long, invested with silky, antrorse-appressed, weakly flexuose, hairs becoming glabrate. Flower buds 2.3–4.9 × 2.1–4.2 mm, ovoid to pyriform, apex flat to weakly domed prior to bud burst with calyx lobes held flat across surface, rarely meeting. Flowers 5.7–10.2 mm diameter. Hypanthium 1.9–3.6 × 2.1–4.2 mm, silvery-white to silvery grey or reddish-grey due to copious covering of hairs; narrowly obconic to obconic or cupular, surface covered in long, silky, antrorse-appressed silvery hairs. Calyx lobes 5, erect to suberect, or spreading, 1.1–1.6 × 0.9–1.8 mm, broadly obtuse, red-green to pale green with a white or pink membranous margin; lobe margins finely ciliate. Receptacle greenish pink or pink at anthesis, darkening to crimson after fertilisation. Petals 5–6, 2.0–3.6 × 2.1–3.3 mm, white, very rarely basally flushed pink, broadly ovate, suborbicular to orbicular, rarely ± cuneate-truncate, apex rounded, margins ± finely and irregularly crumpled or frayed, oil glands not evident in fresh or dried material. Stamens 18–46 in 1–2 weakly defined whorls, filaments white. Anthers dorsifixed, 0.06–0.1 × 0.06–0.09 mm, broadly ellipsoid to scutiform, latrorse. Pollen white. Anther connective gland pale pink when fresh, drying pale orange, spheroidal, coarsely papillate. Ovary 3–5 locular, each with 18–34 ovules in two rows on each placental lobe. Style 1.8–3.0 mm long at anthesis, white basally flushed pink or pale pink; stigma narrowly capitate, as wide as or scarcely wider than style, ± flat, greenish-pink or pink, flushing red after anthesis, surface finely granular-papillate. Fruits 2.2–3.6 × 2.7–3.9 mm, graphite grey, maturing to charcoal fading to greyish-white; narrowly obconic to obconic, rarely cupular, copiously covered in short, silky, antrorse-appressed hairs. Seeds 0.52–1.09 × 0.38–0.72 mm, obovoid, oblong, or oblong-ellipsoid; testa semi-glossy, orange-brown to dark brown, surface coarsely reticulate.