''Leptospermum scoparium'', commonly called mānuka, () mānuka myrtle, New Zealand teatree, broom tea-tree, or just tea tree, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the myrtle

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Myrtaceae,

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to New Zealand (including the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about te ...

) and south-east Australia. Its nectar produces

Mānuka honey Mānuka honey () is a monofloral honey produced from the nectar of the mānuka tree, ''Leptospermum scoparium''. The mānuka tree is indigenous to New Zealand and some parts of coastal Australia, but is today produced globally. Used as a sugar s ...

Description

Mānuka is a prolific shrub-type tree and is often one of the first species to regenerate on cleared land. It is typically a shrub growing to tall, but can grow into a moderately sized tree, up to or so in height. It is

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

, with dense branching and small

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

long and broad, with a short spine tip. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are white, occasionally pink, – rarely up to – in diameter, with five petals. The wood is tough and hard. Mānuka is often confused with the related species kānuka (''

Kunzea ericoides ''Kunzea ericoides'', commonly known as kānuka, kanuka, white tea-tree or burgan, is a tree or shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New Zealand. It has white or pink flowers similar to those of ''Leptospermum'' and from its ...

'') – the easiest way to tell the difference between the two species in the field is to feel their foliage – mānuka leaves are prickly, while kānuka leaves are soft. Alternatively, the seed capsules of mānuka are large ( in diameter) and often remain on the plant year round, whereas the seed capsules of kānuka are much smaller ( in diameter) and are not present for much of the year. The Latin

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''scoparium'' means "like broom", referring to Northern Hemisphere genera such as ''

Genista Genista is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, native to open habitats such as moorland and pasture in Europe and western Asia. They include species commonly called broom, though the term may also refer to other genera, i ...

'' and ''

Cytisus ''Cytisus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to open sites (typically scrub and heathland) in Europe, western Asia and North Africa. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and is one of several genera in the tribe Ge ...

'' which it superficially resembles, but to which it is only distantly related.

History and habitat

Evidence suggests that ''L. scoparium'' originated in Australia before the onset of the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

aridity, and moved as a result of long-distance dispersal events to New Zealand from eastern Australia sometime during the last 20 million years. Cyclones and other wind activity are most likely responsible for transporting seeds long distances. Supporters of this claim cite evidence that the genus ''

Leptospermum ''Leptospermum'' is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae commonly known as tea trees, although this name is sometimes also used for some species of ''Melaleuca''. Most species are endemic to Australia, with the greate ...

'' arose under conditions where frequent forest fires were common (i.e. in Australia, and not temperate New Zealand), because they possess fire-adaptive traits like

serotiny Serotiny in botany simply means 'following' or 'later'. In the case of serotinous flowers, it means flowers which grow following the growth of leaves, or even more simply, flowering later in the season than is customary with allied species. Havi ...

and storage

lignotuber A lignotuber is a woody swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire. Other woody plants may develop basal burls as a similar survival strategy, often as a response t ...

s. It has been postulated that on arrival in New Zealand, ''L. scoparium'' became established in limited

edaphic Edaphology (from Greek , ''edaphos'', "ground",, ''-logia'') is concerned with the influence of soils on living beings, particularly plants. It is one of two main divisions of soil science, the other being pedology. Edaphology includes the study ...

ally suitable areas until the arrival of the Polynesian people, whose fire and forest-clearing brought about the low-nutrient-status soils for which it was preadapted in its homeland. It is now more common in New Zealand than it is in Australia. It is found throughout New Zealand, but is particularly common on the drier east coasts of the North and South Islands, and in Australia in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales.

Ecology

Pests and diseases

The adult mānuka beetle (''

Pyronota festiva ''Pyronota festiva'', commonly known as mānuka beetle or mānuka chafer, is a member of the genus '' Pyronota'' of the beetle family Scarabaeidae (order Coleoptera). It is a scarab beetle endemic to New Zealand, and is commonly found in mānuka ...

'') and its larvae feed on ''L. scoparium'' in New Zealand.

Pollinators

Various pollinators are known to visit ''L. scoparium'', some examples include ''

Melangyna novaezelandiae ''Melangyna novaezelandiae'' (commonly referred to as the "large hoverfly") is a hoverfly endemic to New Zealand.Parkinson, Brian (2007). ''A Photographic Guide To The Insects Of New Zealand''. New Holland Publishers (NZ) Ltd. . It is a generaliz ...

'', ''Hylaeus'', and

Honeybees A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosmo ...

Continued evolution

''Leptospermum scoparium'' is in the process of evolutionary differentiation as a result of its isolation from fellow members of the ''

'' genus. New studies demonstrate a loss of lignotubers among populations of ''Leptospermum scoparium'' located in relatively fire-free zones of New Zealand's South Island, while Australian and Tasmanian populations retain their lignotubers along with stronger manifestations of serotiny. Australian populations of ''Leptospermum scoparium'' are shown to be chemically distinct from their New Zealand counterparts, with significantly higher levels of cinteole and monoterpines. Chemotypical variations also exist between different populations within New Zealand, leading some to suggest that ''L. scoparium'' be divided into three subspecies: those with high

pinene Pinene is a collection of unsaturated bicyclic monoterpenes. Two geometric isomers of pinene are found in nature, α-pinene and β-pinene. Both are chiral. As the name suggests, pinenes are found in pines. Specifically, pinene is the major compo ...

s, high

triketone In organic chemistry, a triketone or trione is an organic compound containing three ketone () groups. The simplest triketones, such as cyclopropanetrione and 2,3,4-pentanetrione, are only of occasional theoretical interest. More pertinent are tr ...

s, and high

sesquiterpene Sesquiterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of three isoprene units and often have the molecular formula C15H24. Like monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes may be cyclic or contain rings, including many unique combinations. Biochemical modificatio ...

s. Recently, however, new research suggests that plant-to-plant variation far outstrips the variation seen between geographically isolated manuka sites, at least with regard to nectar chemistry.

Names

Mānuka, tea tree and ' are common names for this species. "Jelly bush" is also used in Australia to describe similar honey from ''

Leptospermum polygalifolium ''Leptospermum polygalifolium'', commonly known as tantoon, jellybush or yellow tea tree, is a species of shrub or tree of the family Myrtaceae that is endemic to eastern Australia, including Lord Howe Island. It has thin bark, elliptical leave ...

''. Tea tree arose because

Captain Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

used the leaves to make a 'tea' drink. The name ''mānuka'' is from

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

spoken in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It comes from

Proto-Polynesian Proto-Polynesian (abbreviated PPn) is the hypothetical proto-language from which all the modern Polynesian languages descend. It is a daughter language of the Proto-Austronesian language. Historical linguists have reconstructed the language using ...

*''nukanuka'' or *''nuka'' which refers to ''

Decaspermum ''Decaspermum'' is a genus of the botanical family Myrtaceae, first described as a genus in 1776. It is native to China, Southeast Asia, Queensland, and various islands of the Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ...

fructicosum'' due to its similar small white flowers; it is a

doublet Doublet is a word derived from the Latin ''duplus'', "twofold, twice as much",