See Also: tree(dictionary)
Tree(medicine)
gum tree(dictionary)
bay tree(medicine)
til tree(medicine)
tea-tree(dictionary)
ti-tree(dictionary)
tree(2)(dictionary)
tree(encyclopedia)
fir tree(medicine)

tea-tree (iou)



tea-tree noun. ['ti:tri:] M18.
[from TEA noun + TREE noun.]
= TEA noun 2. M18.
Any of various shrubs or trees whose leaves are, or were formerly, infused like tea: cf. TEA noun 3. L18.
b. spec. In Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, any of various shrubs or trees of the myrtle family, chiefly of the genera Leptospermum and Melaleuca (including the manuka L. scoparium). Cf. TI-TREE. L18.
white tea-tree the kanuka, Leptospermum ericoides.
In full Duke of Argyll's tea-tree. The box-thorn Lycium barbarum, reputedly confused by an 18th-cent. Duke of Argyll with a specimen of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. M19.
Comb.: tea-tree oil a fragrant oil with antiseptic properties, obtained from an Australian tea-tree (esp. Melaleuca alternifolia) and used in soaps and other products.