''Kunzea ericoides'', commonly known as kānuka or white tea-tree, is a tree or shrub in the myrtle

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to New Zealand. It has white or pink flowers similar to those of ''

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 ...

'' and from its first formal description in 1832 until 1983 was known as ''Leptospermum ericoides''. The flowers have five

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s and up to 25

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s which are mostly longer than the petals.

Description

''Kunzea ericoides'' is a spreading shrub or tree, sometimes growing to a height of with bark which peels in long strips and young branches which tend to droop. The leaves are variable in shape from linear to narrow elliptic or lance-shaped, long and wide with a

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

up to long. The flowers are white or pale pink, crowded on side branches or in the

axils A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, f ...

of upper leaves. The floral cup is covered with soft, downy hairs and is on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long. There are five triangular

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s about long and five petals about long. There are up to 25 stamens which are , mostly longer than the petals. Flowering occurs between October and February and is followed by fruit which is a cup-shaped capsule long and wide. The capsule usually opens to release its seed when mature. ''Kunzea ericoides'' is very similar to the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n endemics '' K. leptospermoides'' and '' K. peduncularis'' which were formerly included in ''K. ericoides''. The new status of ''K. ericoides'' follows the publication of a paper entitled "A revision of the New Zealand ''Kunzea ericoides'' (

) complex" by the New Zealand botanist, Peter de Lange.

Taxonomy

Kānuka was first formally described in 1832 by the French botanist

Achille Richard Achille Richard was a French botanist, botanical illustrator and physician (27 April 1794 in Paris – 5 October 1852). Biography Achille was the son of the botanist Louis Claude Richard, Louis-Claude Marie Richard (1754–1821). He was a p ...

who gave it the name ''Leptospermum ericoides'' from a specimen he collected in New Zealand. The description was published in ''Voyage de découvertes de l'Astrolabe - Botanique''. In 1983, Australian botanist Joy Thompson changed the scientific name to ''Kunzea ericoides'', describing the differences between ''Leptospermum'' and ''Kunzea'' in '' Telopea''. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''ericoides'') refers to the similarity of the habit of this species to that of ''

Erica arborea ''Erica arborea'', the tree heath or tree heather, is a species of flowering plant (angiosperms) in the heather family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin and Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa. It is also cultivated as an o ...

''. The

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...

''-oides'' is a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

ending meaning "likeness". The taxonomic revision of the ''Kunzea ericoides'' complex identified ten species endemic to New Zealand, seven of which were new at this time. A more recent analysis of the ''Kunzea'' complex observed little genetic variation and morphological distinction between the species, questioning the evidence for ten endemic ''Kunzea'' species and suggesting further revision.

Etymology

Common names for this species include: kānuka, kōpuka, manuea, mānuka, mānuka-rauriki, mārū, rauiri, rauwiri, white tea tree, and tree manuka. ''Kānuka'' can also refer to ''

Kunzea robusta ''Kunzea robusta'', commonly known as rawirinui or kānuka, is a tree in the myrtle Family (biology), family, Myrtaceae, and is Endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It has rough, stringy, or corky bark, lance-shaped leaves that are darker on the u ...

'', it is a doublet of ''

mānuka Mānuka (; ''Leptospermum scoparium'') is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family (biology), family Myrtaceae, native to New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) and south-east Australia. Bees produce mānuka honey from its necta ...

'' from

Proto-Polynesian Proto-Polynesian (abbreviated PPn) is the reconstructed proto-language from which all modern Polynesian languages descend. It is a descendant of the Proto-Oceanic language (the language associated with the Lapita civilization), itself a descend ...

''nukanuka'' or ''nuka'' which originally refers to '' Decaspermum fruticosum'' due to its similar small white flowers.

Distribution

Kānuka (or mānuka, as it was mostly known until the 1930s) is only known from the north of the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. It is found north of the Buller and

Wairau River The Wairau River is one of the longest rivers in New Zealand's South Island. It flows for from the Spenser Mountains (a northern range of the Southern Alps), firstly in a northwards direction and then northeast down a long, straight valley i ...

s, and is most common near

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

. It mostly grows in

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

and forest in coastal and lowland areas, rarely in subalpine shrubland. Members of the kānuka complex are found throughout New Zealand occurring on the

Three Kings Islands 3 (three) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cul ...

, Aotea (

Great Barrier Island Great Barrier Island () lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, north-east of central Auckland. With an area of it is the sixth-largest List of islands of New Zealand, island of New Zealand. Its highest point, Mount Hobson, Great Barrier ...

), from Te Paki (on the

Aupōuri Peninsula The Aupōuri Peninsula is a tombolo at the northern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. It projects between the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. It constitutes the northern part of the Far North District, incorpora ...

) at the northern tip of the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

to as far south as

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

and

Central Otago Central Otago is an area located in the inland part of the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The motto for the area is "A World of Difference". The area is dominated by mountain ranges and the upper reaches of the Clutha River ...

in the South Island, and

Stewart Island Stewart Island (, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura, formerly New Leinster) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a la ...

. Within this range kānuka is widespread ranging from coastal scrub and sand dunes (where it may form a distinct forest type) through lowland and

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

, with one member of the complex reaching elevations of 2000 metres above sea level.

Ecology

Kānuka often colonizes land recovering after a fire and is a critical part of the natural recovery of agricultural areas and open

disturbed ground In ecology, a disturbance is a change in environmental conditions that causes a pronounced change in an ecosystem. Disturbances often act quickly and with great effect, to alter the physical structure or arrangement of biotic and abiotic element ...

to forest. With its small but abundant flowers it can colour a whole hillside white, almost giving the appearance of snow cover. The wood is very hard and although not durable in the ground it is used for wharf piles and tool handles. It is particularly popular as firewood, and burns with a great heat. Kānuka can grow to around 10 metres high.

Kākāriki The three species of kākāriki (also spelled ''kakariki'', without macrons), or New Zealand parakeets, are the most common species of parakeets in the genus ''Cyanoramphus'', family (biology), family Psittaculidae. The most commonly used name ' ...

parakeet A parakeet is any one of many small- to medium-sized species of parrot, in multiple genera, that generally has long tail feathers. Etymology and naming The name ''parakeet'' is derived from the French word ''perroquet'', which is reflect ...

s (''Cyanoramphus'') use the leaves and bark of kānuka and the related

tea trees to rid themselves of parasites. Apart from ingesting the material, they also chew it, mix it with

preen gland The uropygial gland, informally known as the preen gland or the oil gland, is a bilobed sebaceous gland possessed by the majority of birds used to distribute the gland's oil through the plumage by means of preening. It is located dorsally at the ...

oil and apply it to their feathers. Mānuka and kānuka are superficially similar species and are often confused with one another. The easiest way to tell the difference between them is to feel the foliage, kānuka leaves being soft, while mānuka leaves are prickly.John Dawson and Rob Lucas. 2000 ''K. ericoides'' may occur in the understory of certain

rimu ''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a species of tree in the family Podocarpaceae. It is a dioecious evergreen conifer, reaching heights of up to , and can have a stout trunk (botany), trunk up to in diameter. It is endemis ...

nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere, found across southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guin ...

forests in the

. Typical associate

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the Canopy (biology), forest ca ...

species may include

crown fern ''Lomaria discolor'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Blechnum discolor'', commonly called crown fern (Māori language, Māori: piupiu), is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae. This species is endemism, endemic to New Zealand. As noted by ...

(''Lomaria discolor'') and '' Cyathodes fasciculata''.

Prostrate kānuka

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

of kānuka, the prostrate kānuka (''Kunzea ericoides'' var. ''microflora''), is one of the few plants that can survive hot ground in the immediate surroundings of

geothermal Geothermal is related to energy and may refer to: * Geothermal energy, useful energy generated and stored in the Earth * Geothermal activity, the range of natural phenomena at or near the surface, associated with release of the Earth's internal he ...

features such as

fumarole A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or another rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...

s and craters, for instance at "

Craters of the Moon Craters of the Moon may refer to: * Lunar craters, craters on the Earth's Moon * Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a National monument (United States), U.S. national monumen ...

" (Karapiti), a geothermal area close to

Taupō Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town located in the central North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the edge of Lake Taupō, which is the largest freshwater lake in New Zealand. Taupō was constituted as a borough in 1953. It h ...

, New Zealand.

References

* John Dawson and Rob Lucas. 2000. ''Nature guide to the New Zealand forest'', Godwit Publishing

External links

* {{Authority control Endemic flora of New Zealand ericoides Plants described in 1832 Taxa named by Achille Richard