General Description:

Gaudium is a genus of 22 species which were formerly included in Leptospermum (see footnote). They are distinguished from Leptospermum in having non-woody fruits which are usually deciduous.  The reclassification has been accepted by Australian herbaria. It has not yet (July 2025) been taken up in the Australian Plant Census but it is highly probable that this will occur in a future update of the Census.

Gaudium laevigatum is usually a large, bushy shrub that can reach 5 metres in height by a similar spread. Leaves are grey-green and are generally oval-shaped 15-30 mm long by 5-8 mmm wide. The typical ‘tea-tree’ flowers are white and up to 20 mm diameter with numerous small stamens surrounding the central stigma. Flowers which appear in late winter to spring are followed by small non-woody, deciduous fruits containing many seeds.

G.laevigatum is reasonably common in cultivation where the greyish foliage is an attractive feature. It is a hardy shrub for moist soils in a range of climates and is particularly useful in coastal areas as it is tolerant of salt spray. Plants prefer full sun or partial shade and may be pruned severely if necessary.

Note: this species is an environmental weed in southern Western Australia and  South Australia and is naturalised in south-western Victoria, south-eastern Queensland and in South Africa. It would probably be best to not plant it outside of its natural range.

At least one form with variegated foliage is in cultivation. It is known as ‘Flamingo’ or the ‘Cranbourne Form’ and is a shrub 1-5 to 2 metres high by 1.5 metres wide. Another variegated form is known as ‘Raelene’ – this may be the same plant as ‘Flamingo’ under a different name.

Propagation is easy from both seed and cuttings. However, the variegated form(s) can only be propagated from cuttings as it will not come true from seed.