Kunzea amathicola

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Kunzea amathicola
Kunzea amathicola.jpg
Kunzea amathicola foliage and flowers
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Kunzea
Species:
K. amathicola
Binomial name
Kunzea amathicola

Kunzea amathicola, also known by the Maori names manuka and rawiritoa, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New Zealand. It is a densely-branched, densely-foliaged large shrub or tree with sprays of large white flowers with a red centre.

Contents

Description

Kunzea amathicola is a densely-branched large shrub or tree which grows to a height of up to 15 m (50 ft) but is commonly a dense, rounded shrub 2 m (7 ft) high and 3 m (10 ft) wide with interwoven branches. The branches are densely covered with silky hairs and the leaves are of two forms, juvenile and mature. Adult leaves are oblong, lance-shaped to egg-shaped, 6–12 mm (0.2–0.5 in) long and 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) wide while the juvenile leaves are egg-shaped, 2.5–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and 1–2.5 mm (0.04–0.1 in) wide. The flowers are arranged in groups of between five and twenty flowers and the individual flowers are 7–12.5 mm (0.3–0.5 in) in diameter. The floral cup is 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long and 3–6 mm (0.1–0.2 in) in diameter. The sepal lobes are 0.5–1.5 mm (0.02–0.06 in) long and 0.5–2 mm (0.02–0.08 in) wide. The petals are white, more or less round to egg-shaped, about 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long and wide and there are between 38 and 90 white stamens. Flowers are present in most months and the fruit are hemispherical capsules which are 2–5 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long and 3.5–6 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide. [2] [3]

Kunzea amathicola growing in the Kapiti Island Nature Reserve Kunza amathicola habit.jpg
Kunzea amathicola growing in the Kapiti Island Nature Reserve

Taxonomy and naming

Kunzea amathicola was first formally described in 2014 by Peter James de Lange and Hellmut Toelken and the description was published in PhytoKeys . [1] [3] The specific epithet (amathicola) is derived from the Ancient Greek amathos meaning "sand" [4] :678 and the Latin -cola meaning "dweller" [4] :217 referring to the usual habitat of this species. [3]

Distribution and habitat

This kunzea usually grows on sand dunes or in sandy soils in coastal and near-coastal areas on both the North and South Islands as well as the Little Barrier Island. In the North Island it is most common on the west coast between Wellington and Te Paki and in the South Island from Farewell Spit to West Whanganui Inlet. [3]

Use in horticulture

Rawiritoa is most easily propagated from fresh seed and is fast-growing is a sunny position in well-drained soil. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Kunzea ericoides</i> Species of shrub

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 first formal description in 1832 until 1983 was known as Leptospermum ericoides. The flowers have five petals and up to 25 stamens which are mostly longer than the petals.

<i>Kunzea salina</i> Species of flowering plant

Kunzea salina is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a low, spreading, densely branched shrub with leaves mostly arranged in opposite pairs and usually two sessile pale pink to white flowers arranged at the base of new shoots. It only grows near the edge of certain salt lakes.

Kunzea glabrescens, commonly known as spearwood, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a large shrub with leaves and flowers similar to those of K. ericifolia but has differently shaped bracteoles. It is often common in wet areas around Perth.

<i>Kunzea pulchella</i> Species of flowering plant

Kunzea pulchella, commonly known as granite kunzea, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with spreading branches, egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves and loose groups of red flowers, each on a short stalk so that the branch is visible between the flowers.

Kunzea peduncularis, commonly known as mountain burgan, is a flowering plant in Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, and is endemic to Victoria, Australia. It is usually a dense shrub and has lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base. Dense groups of white flowers appear in early summer.

<i>Kunzea parvifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Kunzea parvifolia, commonly known as the violet kunzea, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a wiry shrub with small, narrow leaves and clusters of pink to purple flowers in spring.

<i>Kunzea ciliata</i> Species of shrub

Kunzea ciliata is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub which typically grows to a height of 0.8 to 1.5 metres and blooms between October and November producing pink flowers.

<i>Kunzea rostrata</i> Species of flowering plant

Kunzea rostrata is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to an area along the south west coast of Western Australia. It is a shrub with small, mostly elliptic leaves and with groups of between mostly eleven and fifteen rose pink flowers mainly on the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering.

<i>Kunzea similis</i> Species of flowering plant

Kunzea similis is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area along the south coast of Western Australia. It is a shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves with a single vein, and spherical groups of between four and ten pink flowers on the ends of shoots.

<i>Kunzea preissiana</i> Species of shrub

Kunzea preissiana is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a shrub with hairy branches and leaves, pink to mauve flowers in groups on the ends of shoots, and twenty to thirty stamens about the same length as the petals. It is a widespread, often locally common species across its range.

<i>Kunzea recurva</i> Species of shrub

Kunzea recurva is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an uncommon shrub with small leaves and groups of pink or purplish flowers on the ends of the branches.

<i>Kunzea obovata</i> Species of shrub

Kunzea obovata is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a spreading shrub with unusually-shaped leaves and clusters of pink to purple flowers. It is restricted to northern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland.

<i>Kunzea badjaensis</i> Species of shrub

Kunzea badjaensis is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area of New South Wales. It is a shrub with egg-shaped leaves and clusters of white flowers near the end of the branches. It grows at high altitudes on the Southern Tablelands.

Kunzea flavescens is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a spreading shrub which has egg-shaped leaves and groups of white or cream-coloured flowers on the ends of the branches in September and October.

Kunzea graniticola is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a shrub or small tree with linear to egg-shaped leaves and rounded groups of white or cream-coloured flowers on the ends of the branches in August and September. It is only known from forests near Cardwell and on Hinchinbrook Island.

Kunzea juniperoides is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area of New South Wales. It is a small shrub with narrow leaves and small groups of white flowers near the end of the longer branches. It is distinguished from similar kunzeas by the large number of scale-like perules and bracts surrounding the groups of flowers.

<i>Kunzea linearis</i> Species of flowering plant

Kunzea linearis, also known by the Maori name rawiri manuka, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New Zealand. It is a densely-foliaged shrub or small tree, characterised by very narrow leaves and clusters of small white flowers with five petals and a large number of stamens, which are longer than the petals. It grows in the north of the North Island and is the most distinctive of the New Zealand kunzeas.

<i>Kunzea opposita</i> Species of shrub

Kunzea opposita is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a spindly shrub which has small leaves arranged in opposite pairs, and pink flowers with five petals and many stamens, the stamens much longer than the petals. It usually grows in woodland or on exposed cliffs.

<i>Kunzea robusta</i> Species of tree

Kunzea robusta, commonly known as rawirinui or kanuka, is a tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New Zealand. It has rough, stringy or corky bark, lance-shaped leaves that are darker on the upper surface, flowers in compact groups of up to thirty, each with five or six white petals and about thiry five stamens of varying lengths.

<i>Kunzea salterae</i> Species of flowering plant

Kunzea salterae, also known by the Maori name moutohora kanuka, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Moutohora Island in New Zealand. It is a much-branched shrub or small spreading tree with needle-like leaves, sprays of white flowers and small cup-shaped or urn-shaped fruit.

References

  1. 1 2 "Kunzea amathicola". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. de Lange, Peter J. "Kunzea amathicola". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 de Lange, Peter (26 August 2014). "A revision of the New Zealand Kunzea ericoides (Myrtaceae) complex". PhytoKeys (40): 112–127. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.40.7973. PMC   4154306 . PMID   25197228.
  4. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.