Tea Tree

Tea tree or Ti-tree is a popular name that has been applied to a number of different, unrelated plants:

  • Camellia sinensis (aka Thea sinensis), from which black, green, oolong and white tea are all obtained.
  • Melaleuca alternifolia from which tea tree oil is obtained, in the family Myrtaceae.
  • Leptospermum, also in the family Myrtaceae; notably
    • Leptospermum scoparium (Manuka) in New Zealand and southeast Australia.
    • Leptospermum laevigatum, known as the Coastal Tea Tree and the Australian Tea Tree
  • Kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) also in New Zealand.
  • Boxthorn or Lycium in the family Solanaceae, notably
    • Duke of Argyll's Tea Tree (Lycium barbarum), also known as Wolfberry or Matrimony Vine.
  • Ti (plant), Cordyline fruticosa, in the family Laxmanniaceae, formerly treated in the family Agavaceae.

Also:

  • Tea Tree, Tasmania is a locality south of Hobart.
  • Ti Tree, Northern Territory is a small town.


Famous quotes containing the words tea and/or tree:

    “They were right. The Soviet régime is not the embodiment of evil as you think in the West. They have laws and I broke them. I hate tea and they love tea. Who is wrong?”
    —Alexander Zinoviev (b. 1922)

    “A tree may grow a thousand feet tall, but its leaves will return to its roots.”
    —Chinese proverb.