And then there were ten . .
Another species Kunzea serotina is widespread and common from the Central North Island Mountains and Volcanic Plateau throughout much of the eastern South Island plains, intermontane basins and mountain slopes - this species has the highest altitudinal limit of any Kunzea having been found at 2000m a.s.l. on Mt Ruapehu. Kunzea amathicola is a species of mostly sand dune habitats, ranging from Te Paki south to Wellington and thence from Farewell Spit along the north-western Nelson coastline. The remaining species are much more localised - Kunzea triregensis is endemic to the Three Kings, K. toelkenii was once the dominant Kunzea on the dunefields of the Bay of Plenty but now survives only as scattered trees and one remnant near Whakatane. Kunzea salterae appears to be endemic to Moutohora (Whale Island). Despite popular mythology no Kunzea species are known from Rakiura / Stewart Island and none are shared with Australia.
Of these species - K. amathicola, K. robusta, and K. serotina had been recognised as distinct as early as the 1840s but their species status was rejected by northern hemisphere botanist Joseph Hooker (1817-1911) who took a broad view on species diversity - a view which is now being increasingly challenged by modern treatments of southern hemisphere plants. Many of the species were also recognised by Maori who gave them names that related to their growth habits and wood properties, and significantly noted them as distinct because they occurred in zones where they are sympatric. The revision owes much to the pioneering efforts of Thomas Kirk (1828–1898) who openly challenged the views of Joseph Hooker, William Colenso (1811–1899), Harry Carse (1857–1930), Donald Petrie (1846–1925), George Simpson (1880–1952), and Australian Kunzea expert Hellmut Toelken.
”A revision of the New Zealand Kunzea ericoides (Myrtaceae) complex” doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.40.7973.
Posted: 27/08/2014