Uromyrtus lamingtonensis is a rare Australian shrub growing around the state border of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 and Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

. Like the Peach Myrtle

Uromyrtus australis

Uromyrtus australis, commonly known as the Peach Myrtle, is a small tree growing around Nightcap National Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is endangered by extinction...

, it has attractive pink flowers.

It differs from other Australian members of the genus by the somewhat rounded leaf base. Also the leaf tip has either a sharp firm point, or a sharp flexible tip. The petals are relatively long.

Habitat

A restricted range in high rainfall areas around Lamington National Park

Lamington National Park

Lamington is a national park in Queensland, Australia, lying on the Lamington Plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland/New South Wales border...

 and Limpinwood Nature Reserve

Limpinwood Nature Reserve

Limpinwood Nature Reserve is a wilderness region of 26 km² situated in the Border ranges of north eastern New South Wales in Australia.The reserve is part of the Shield Volcano Group of the World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Australia inscribed in 1986 and added to the Australian National...

. Occurring on dry rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

 or on steep rocky slopes, with soils derived from basalt

Basalt

Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...

. At altitudes ranging from 720 to 940 metres above sea level.

Description

A shrub or small tree up to 5 metres in height and 12 cm in stem diameter. The stem is irregular in shape. It is often multi-stemmed, low-branched, leaning downhill and crooked. Like many New South Wales rainforest myrtles, the bark is greyish brown, flaky and scaly.

Small branches are a slender pale green or fawn. The new shoots have fawn hairs, unlike the silver new shoots in the Peach Myrtle

Uromyrtus australis

Uromyrtus australis, commonly known as the Peach Myrtle, is a small tree growing around Nightcap National Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is endangered by extinction...

.

Leaves are opposite on the stem, narrow-elliptic with a prominent tip. 1.5 to 2.5 cm long, 0.3 to 0.7 cm wide. Oil dots are small though easily seen under a lens. They are translucent and two to three diameters apart. The leaf stems are red and about 3 mm long. Leaf venation is obscure, with the mid rib only being easily seen.

Flowers & fruit

Single flowers form from October to December, appearing from the leaf axils. Petals are rounded, at first a pale pink, then becoming somewhat darker at maturity. The fruit is a round black berry, 4 to 5 mm in diameter. Inside are two to eight seeds. The berry has calyx lobes attached.