Kunzea salterae (Kunzea salterae)

Description

Growth habit shrubs to small trees 0.1–6(–10) × 2–4(–6) m with broad,spreading to somewhat pendulous crowns,rarely plants completely decumbent,sprawling across ground.Trunk usually multi-trunked from base,up to 0.3 m d.b.h.,these mostly widely spreading to suberect,flexuose,often basally buttressed,branches frequent from base in exposed sites,otherwise naturally thinning in the lower half of the trunk.Bark early bark brown,initially firm,somewhat sinuous-fluted,elongate,over time cracking transversely (especially on branch flanges),and with apices gradually detaching and raising to present as small lunate (in profile) flakes,old grey-brown bark flaking readily in small,somewhat irregular tabular shards,often with small lunate secondary peeling;somewhat corky to chartaceous.Branches Two to many,suberect to widely spreading,rarely ascending,mostly pendulous,branchlets numerous and very leafy,rather slender,initially subterete soon becoming quadrangular;sericeous,indumentum initially copious rarely glabrate to glabrous,hairs on young rapidly growing apices,copious,sericeous,straight,antrorse-appressed up to 0.55 mm,these soon falling;other mostly divergent hairs long persistent,(especially opposite leaf buds and expanding foliage),0.04–0.08(–0.1) mm,hyaline to translucent (appearing white when young maturing grey),apices ± curled,often admixed (particularly toward branchlet apices and near decurrent leaf bases) with deciduous antrorse-appressed,straight to somewhat sinuous hairs up to 0.28 mm.Vegetative buds inconspicuous at resting stage 0.5–1.0 mm diam.;scales deciduous;(0.6–)1.2–2.3 mm long,stramineous to pale brown,initially broadly ovate to ovate-lanceolate grading through broadly lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate,midrib strongly keeled,prolonged to apiculate tip,with one prominent row of 4–10 oil glands on either side of midrib,margins,apex,apiculus and keel finely ciliate.Leaves ± spreading to patent;lamina (4–)10(–18) × (0.6–)1.2(–2.0) mm,bright glossy green,yellow-green,bronze-green to dark green;linear-lanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate,flat not recurved,apex acute to subacute,cuspidate,rarely obtuse to rounded;base attenuate;adaxial surface slightly concave to flat,finely glandular punctate;oil glands 180(–280),more evident when dry;midrib slightly raised to depressed near base otherwise depressed for entire length,initially densely covered in fine,antrorse-appressed silky hairs up to 0.22 mm,becoming glabrescent;abaxial surface slightly convex,finely glandular punctate,oil glands less obvious when fresh than when dry,up to 100,