General Description:

Pericalymma is a small genus of 4 species, all of which are found in the south-west of Western Australia.  They are small to medium shrubs, closely related to Homalospermum in the Leptospermum group.

Pericalymma ellipticum is a medium sized shrub which can reach a height of 2-3 metres.  The leaves are elliptical to oval shaped, tapering to a point.  They are about 3-10 mm long and 1-4 mm wide.   The white or pink, tea-tree-like flowers are about 15 mm in diameter and occur in the leaf axils and at the ends of short branches during spring and summer. They are followed woody seed capsules about 5 mm in diameter.

Two botanical varieties are recognised; var. ellipticum and var. floridum.  The only significant difference between them is the size of the petals – up to 3.5 mm in var. ellipticum and up to 6 mm in var. floridum.

Pericalymma ellipticum is not often cultivated but it is an attractive plant when in flower and should be suitable for temperate climates in moist soils and in a sunny or partially shaded position. The pink flowered forms are especially attractive. It should be tolerant of at least moderate frosts.

Propagation can be carried out from seed which does not require any pre-treatment.  Cuttings of firm, current season’s growth can be expected to strike reliably.