Leptospermum laevigatum Australian tea tree

Fantastically gnarled, sometimes twisted trunks clothed in shaggy, fibrous bark commend this charming small tree. The gray-green leaves are broader toward the tips, quite unlike those of the New Zealand tea tree. White flowers give way to woody, flat-topped seed capsules. Recent studies treat the species as Gaudium laevigatum, now under deliberation by the Australian Plant Census.

The only survivors on campus are a hedge along the periphery path at Stanford Stadium, just northeast of the ticket office. A substantial hedge on Campus Drive near Narnia (1135) was removed after the freeze of 1972 destroyed much of it. Groups allowed to attain tree size were lost to construction at the former Terman Engineering Center and near the south end of Taube Tennis Pavilion.

The picturesque tree form can still be seen locally at the west corner of 320 California Avenue in Palo Alto, where a handsome trio with twisted trunks merges its crowns. More are certainly warranted on campus.