It is found only in New Zealand, where it occurs in Leptospermum and Nothofagus forest.
Tea tree is a name sometimes applied to a number of different species of plants endemic to Australia.
"The school .. gave the appearance of being out in the bushland as it was bordered by scrub and swamp on the northern and eastern boundaries. To the south was the creek and to the west, across Pease Street, was a tangle of ti-trees, stunted growth and thick blady grass.. At night the curlews called incessantly and in the early morning scrub wallabies came in to graze on the sports field."
They are typically found under Nothofagus species, but have also been recorded under species of Leptospermum, Dacrydium or Podocarpus.
In Australia, Leptospermum species are sometimes used as food plants by the larvae of hepialid moths of the genus Aenetus, including A. lewinii and A. ligniveren.
Leptospermum trees form a sparse canopy on the mountain's upper slopes, while grasses and Sphagnum moss cover the ground.
The suburb acquired its name from the white flowered 'tea trees' (Leptospermum lanigerum) that grew in the gully.
Leptospermum | Leptospermum scoparium | Leptospermum recurvum |
Leptospermone is a chemical compound (a β-triketone) produced by some members of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), such as Callistemon citrinus (Lemon Bottlebrush), a shrub native to Australia, and Leptospermum scoparium (Manuka), a New Zealand tree from which it gets its name.
The name "Leptospermum" is from the Greek "leptos sperma" which means "thin seed", and "liversidgei" is after Professor A. Liversidge.
Caterpillars of Declana from New Zealand, also tentatively placed in the Nacophorini, have been found on Myrtaceae (eucalyptus, Kunzea and Leptospermum), Pinaceae – larches (Larix), pines (Pinus, notably Monterey Pine, P. radiata) and Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) –, and southern beeches (Nothofagaceae).