Neofabricia myrtifolia

Family: Myrtaceae
Distribution: Cape York Peninsula in north Queensland and some islands off the east coast in heath and woodlands.
Common Name: Yellow Tea Tree
Conservation Status: Not considered to be at risk in the wild.
Derivation of Name: Neofabricia… From Greek neos, new and Fabricia, a former name inadvertently applied to the genus (the name Fabricia had been applied previously to a different group of plants).
myrtifolia… Having foliage similar to the genus Myrtus, the European myrtle.

General Description:

Neofabricia is a small genus of three species, all of which occur on Cape York. They are medium shrubs on trees and are related to the genus Leptospermum (tea trees).

N.myrtifolia is a shrub to 3-4 metres in heath areas but can reach up to 10 metres in forested areas. The leaves are of an elongated oval shape to 4 cm long. The yellow, tea tree-like flowers have five petals and occur mainly in winter on the ends of short branchlets. They are about 25 mm in diameter. Seeds are borne in dry multi-locular capsules about 10 mm diameter. Seeds are shed when the capsules are mature.

This plant is well suited to tropical and sub-tropical gardens but has not been grown to any extent in cooler climates. Given its tropical origin, it is likely to be adversely affected by frost. It performs best in well-drained, moist soils in sun or dappled shade.

Propagation can be carried out from both seed and cuttings