New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
  • Member login
  • Join
Facebook
  • Home
  • Flora
    • Flora species
    • Vascular
    • Non Vascular
    • Plant identification
    • Fungi
    • Make your own book
    • Quiz
  • Threats
    • Exotic Plants (Weeds)
    • Pest Animals
    • Other threats
  • Ecosystems
    • Plant communities
    • Ecosystem services
    • Novel ecosystems
  • Publications
    • Documents
    • Newsletter
    • Plant lists
    • Botanical Society journals
    • NZPCN publications
  • Conservation
    • Seedbank
    • Training
    • Restoration
    • Monitoring
    • Habitat protection
    • Funding
    • Botanic gardens
  • NZPCN
    • News
    • Trilepidea newsletter
    • Events
    • Members
    • Council members
    • Awards
    • Shop
    • Donate
    • Favourite Plant
    • Why join NZPCN?
    • Join
  • Help
    • FAQ
    • Query
    • Glossary
  • Contact us

Search flora

You are here:
  1. Home
  2. Flora
  3. Flora species
  4. Kunzea linearis

Kunzea linearis

Te Paki.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 12 April 2015, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
At Ohia.<br>Photographer: John E. Braggins, Licence: All rights reserved.
Kunzea ericoides var. linearis bark.<br>Photographer: Peter J. de Lange, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Kunzea ericoides var. linearis bark.<br>Photographer: Peter J. de Lange, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Lake Ohia, Karikari Peninsula, January.<br>Photographer: Peter J. de Lange, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Kunzea ericoides var linearis.<br>Photographer: John E. Braggins, Licence: All rights reserved.
Te Kao, Far North, January.<br>Photographer: Peter J. de Lange, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
In cultivation ex Lake Ohia.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 19 July 2007, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Kunzea ericoides var. linearis.<br>Photographer: John Smith-Dodsworth, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Lake Ohia.<br>Photographer: Peter J. de Lange, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Mount Auckland, Kaipara.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 8 March 2007, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
In cultivation ex Kendall Bay, Auckland (from a specimen collected by Peter de Lange).<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 18 December 2014, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
In cultivation ex Kendall Bay, Auckland (from a specimen collected by Peter de Lange).<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 18 December 2014, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
In cultivation ex Kendall Bay, Auckland (from a specimen collected by Peter de Lange).<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 18 December 2014, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Longitudinal section of flower. In cultivation ex Kendall Bay, Auckland (from a specimen collected by Peter de Lange).<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 18 December 2014, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Calyx hairs and stem hairs. In cultivation ex Kendall Bay, Auckland (from a specimen collected by Peter de Lange).<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 18 December 2014, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Leaf hairs and stem hairs. In cultivation ex Kendall Bay, Auckland (from a specimen collected by Peter de Lange).<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 18 December 2014, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Calyx hairs and stem hairs. In cultivation ex Kendall Bay, Auckland (from a specimen collected by Peter de Lange).<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 18 December 2014, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Adaxial (left) and abaxial (right) surfaces of leaf. In cultivation ex Kendall Bay, Auckland (from a specimen collected by Peter de Lange).<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 18 December 2014, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Te Paki.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 13 April 2015, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Download PDF Comment on factsheet

NZPCN members can select up to 20 plant species and automatically create a full colour, fully illustrated A4 book describing them (in PDF format).

  • Find out more...
  • Join NZPCN...
iNaturalist NZ View observations Donate Support NZPCN

Common name

rawiri mānuka, kānuka

Synonyms

Leptospermum ericoides var. lineare Kirk, Leptospermum lineatum Cockayne; Kunzea ericoides var. linearis (Kirk) W.Harris

Family

Myrtaceae

Authority

Kunzea linearis (Kirk) de Lange et Toelken

Flora category

Vascular – Native

Endemic taxon

Yes

Endemic genus

No

Endemic family

No

Structural class

Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons

Chromosome number

2n = 22

Current conservation status

  • Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017

The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2017 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: By Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, John W. Barkla, Shannel P. Courtney, Paul D. Champion, Leon R. Perrie, Sarah M. Beadel, Kerry A. Ford, Ilse Breitwieser, Ines Schönberger, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Peter B. Heenan and Kate Ladley.

2018 | Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable

Previous conservation statuses

2012 | At Risk – Declining

2009 | At Risk – Declining

2004 | Serious Decline

Brief description

Small tree with flaky bark bearing masses of small very narrow erect leaves and clusters of small white flowers. Leaves long and narrow, to 12mm long, soft to grasp. Flowers 4.5-12mm wide, with a red shiny centre. Fruit a small dry capsule.

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: North Island from Te Paki to northern Waikato with on disjunct outlier in the north-eastern Wairarapa (see de Lange 2014).

Habitat

Coastal shrublands and cliff faces, usually on sand, sand podzols, and/or sandy peats. Rarely on podzolised clays or sandstone bluffs. Occasionally found inland.

Features

Erect shrubs or small trees up to 12 m. Trunk 1–4), mostly erect, 0.10–0.60 m d.b.h. Bark dark brown to brown, ± elongate, coarsely tessellated usually firmly attached, though peeling inwards leaving centrally attached lunate flakes. Branches numerous; ascending to upright, plumose; branchlets plumose, slender; branchlets sericeous, indumentum copious, hairs antrorse-appressed, weakly flexuose, up to 0.68 mm long. Leaves sessile, hairy, rarely glabrous, densely crowded along branchlets toward apices; lamina 9.3–19.5 × 0.3–1.2 mm, initially silvery-grey (due to dense hair covering), maturing dark green to glaucous green above (as hairs are shed); linear, apex sharply acute, cuspidate, base attenuate; lamina margins copiously covered in silvery-grey hairs, these forming a thick band and fusing with the abaxial midrib hairs just short of lamina apex, and along decurrent leaf bases. Inflorescence spiciform 3–12-flowered botrya 20–80 mm long or an elongated, spiciform, 10–40-flowered botryum up to 180 mm long. Flowers of smaller botrya crowded, those of elongated botrya regularly spaced up to 20 mm apart; terminal portion of both short and elongated spiciform botrya inflorescence types often bearing undeveloped flowers and active vegetative growth. Inflorescence axis densely invested in antrorse-appressed, weakly flexuose, silky hairs. Pherophylls, leaf-like, 1–2 per flower, hairy (rarely glabrous); lamina 6.0–12.8 × 0.9–2.2 mm, dark silvery-green, silvery-grey or glaucous (depending one extent of hair covering), linear to linear-falcate; apex acute, base attenuate; lamina margin densely covered by antrorse-appressed, sericeous hairs, rarely glabrous. Pedicels sessile to subsessile, up to 1.2 mm long, copiously invested with silky, antrorse-appressed, weakly flexuose hairs. Flower buds ovoid, double conic to pyriform, apex sharply erect; calyx lobes pinched at base inwards, touching prior to bud burst. Flowers 1.9–5.7 mm diam. Hypanthium 2.0–4.0 × 2.5–4.1 mm, copiously covered in silvery-white to silvery-grey hairs or glaborus; barrel-shaped, cupular or narrowly campanulate, rim bearing 5 persistent sharply erect calyx lobes; hypanthium usually completely covered in a dense covering of long, silky, antrorse-appressed silvery hairs. Calyx lobes 5, erect, 1.0–1.6 × 0.2–0.6 mm, narrowly deltoid to deltoid with acute tips, red-green, densely covered in long, silky, silvery, antrorse-appressed, hairs or glabrous. Receptacle green or pink at anthesis, usually darkening to crimson after fertilisation. Petals 5–6, 0.9–2.0 × 0.7–1.9 mm, cream, pale pink or cream basally flushed pink, narrowly ovate to suborbicular, suberect, apex rounded, margins ± finely and irregularly crumpled, oil glands colourless. Stamens 32–46(–60) in 1–2 weakly defined whorls, arising from receptacular rim, filaments cream. Anthers dorsifixed, 0.04–0.06 × 0.02–0.04 mm, testiculate, latrorse. Pollen white. Anther connective gland prominent, pale pink or golden-yellow when fresh, drying yellow to pale orange, spheroidal, finely to coarsely papillate. Ovary 3–5 locular, each with 18–30 ovules in two rows on each placental lobe. Style 0.8–2.0 mm long, cream or pale pink; stigma narrowly capitate, as wide as, or slightly wider than style, ± flat, greenish-white or pink, flushing red after anthesis, surface finely granular-papillate. Fruits 1.6–2.9 × 2.3–4.1 mm, initially silvery-white or silvery-grey due to dense hair covering, maturing grey-brown to grey-black, barrel-shaped to narrowly obconic, rarely campanulate to cupular, calyx valves prominently erect. Seeds 0.50–1.10 × 0.48–0.70 mm, obovoid, oblong, oblong-ellipsoid, or cylindrical; testa semi-glossy, orange-brown to dark brown, surface coarsely reticulate.

Similar taxa

Morphologically most similar to K. ericoides. Both species have similar linear-lanceolate leaves but K. ericoides is has glabrescent branchlets, corymbiform racemes, and smaller flowers with fewer stamens. Kunzea linearis is distinguished from all other NZ members of the K. ericoides complex by having linear almost filiform leaves, spicate racemes, narrowly lanceolate-acute, long persistent erecto-patent sepals, erecto-patent petals, and brown bark which peels into small, tessellated, semi-lunate flakes.

Flowering

October-February

Flower colours

White

Fruiting

December-June

Propagation technique

Easily grown from fresh seed. Can be grown with great difficulty from semi-hardwood cuttings.

Threats

Primarily threatened through loss of habitat. The preferred coastal habitat of K. ericoides var. linearis is actively threatened by coastal resort development, and farming throughout its range. Also plants are cut for firewood. Very few populations occur on protected land. Hybridism with other Kunzea spp. is a major problem in urban settings such as Auckland.

Etymology

kunzea: Named after Gustav Kunze (4 October 1793, Leipzig -30 April 1851), 19th century German botanist from Leipzig who was a German professor of zoology, an entomologist with an interest mainly in ferns and orchids

linearis: Linear (leaves)

Attribution

Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 1 September 2014. Description modified from de Lange (2014).

References and further reading

de Lange, P.J. 2014: A revision of the New Zealand Kunzea ericoides (Myrtaceae) complex. Phytokeys 40: 185p doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.40.7973.

Citation

Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Kunzea linearis Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/kunzea-linearis/ (Date website was queried)

▲ Back to top
  • Home
  • Flora
  • Threats
  • Ecosystems
  • Publications
  • Conservation
  • NZPCN
  • Help
  • Contact us

© 2022 New Zealand Plant Conservation Network • Website by RS

Coastlands Plant Nursery Wildlands

Website sponsor

  • Home
  • Flora
    • Flora species
    • Vascular
      • Ferns
        • King fern
        • True ferns
        • Adder's tongue ferns
        • Fork ferns and whisk ferns
        • Horsetails
      • Conifers
        • Celery pines
        • Kauri
        • Podocarps
          • Podocarpus
          • Dacrydium
          • Prumnopitys
          • Dacrycarpus
          • Halocarpus
          • Lepidothamnus
          • Manoao
        • Cypress
      • Flowering plants
        • Parasites
          • Leafy mistletoes
          • Pygmy mistletoes
            • Korthalsella flowers
            • Korthalsella hosts
            • Dispersal of Korthalsella
            • Associates of Korthalsella
          • Root parasites
          • Saprophytes
        • Epiphytes
          • NZ
            • Typical
            • Occasional
            • Hemi-epiphytes
            • Ephemeral
            • NZ list
        • Monocots
          • Orchids
            • Structure
          • Grasses
        • Dicots
          • Hebes
          • Kowhai
          • Coprosma
          • Beech
          • Rata
        • Carnivorous
        • Deciduous plants
        • Aquatic plants
      • Poisonous plants
        • Poisons in the garden
        • Poisonous food plants
        • Poisonous natives
      • Threatened plant lists
      • What's a vascular plant?
      • Club mosses
    • Non Vascular
      • Bryophytes
        • Liverworts
        • Mosses
        • Hornworts
      • Algae
        • Seaweeds
      • Lichens
    • Plant identification
      • Written descriptions
      • Experts
      • Plant keys
        • Key to parasitic plant genera
      • Collecting plants
        • Should I collect
        • Choosing a specimen
        • Field notes
        • Fresh plant material
        • Pressing and drying
        • Mounting specimens
        • Labelling specimens
    • Fungi
    • Make your own book
    • Quiz
  • Threats
    • Exotic Plants (Weeds)
      • Unwanted organisms
      • DOC weeds
      • Plant me instead
      • Pest Plant Accord
    • Pest Animals
      • Mammals
        • Mustelids
        • Rodents
        • Ungulates
        • Possums
      • Fish
      • Insects
    • Other threats
      • Natural events
        • Insects
      • Human induced
        • Habitat loss
        • Collection
        • Climate change
  • Ecosystems
    • Plant communities
      • Dunes
        • Volcanic
        • Coastal
          • Threats
          • Common species
          • Research on dunes
          • Pingao research
          • What you can do
      • Wetlands
        • Estuaries
          • Common estuarine species
          • Research on estuaries
        • Ephemeral
        • Restiad peat bogs
      • Forests
        • Kauri-podocarp-broadleaved
        • Podocarp broadleaved
        • Beech
      • Scrub/shrublands
        • Geothermal
          • Distribution of geothermal vegetation
          • Geothermal plants
          • Geothermal vegetation types
          • Threats to geothermal vegetation
        • Frost flat/hollow
        • Manuka fens
        • Gumlands
      • Grasslands
        • Tussock grasslands
      • Bare ground
        • Braided rivers
        • Alpine
        • Cliff
        • Scree and boulderfields
        • Shingle beaches
      • Herbfields
        • Saltpan
    • Ecosystem services
    • Novel ecosystems
  • Publications
    • Documents
    • Newsletter
    • Plant lists
      • Plant lists by region
      • National plant lists
      • How to prepare a plant list
    • Botanical Society journals
    • NZPCN publications
  • Conservation
    • Seedbank
      • Project 1 - Pohutukawa, Rata and Myrtaceae
      • Project 2 - Alpine flora and the Forget-Me-Nots
      • Project 3 - Kowhai and its relatives
      • Project 4 - Podocarps and trees of the forest
    • Training
      • Module 1: Plant life
      • Module 2: Covenants
      • Module 3: Propagation
      • Module 4: Wetlands
      • Pilot course 2006
      • Request a course
    • Restoration
      • Gardening
        • Being weed wise
        • Garden plants
          • Trees and shrubs
          • Broad-leaved herbs
          • Grass-like herbs
          • Climbers
          • Ferns
        • Attracting wildlife
        • Planting for lizards
          • Rules
      • Species recovery
        • Plant translocations
      • Ecological restoration
        • Case studies
          • Tavora Reserve
          • Waiwhakareke
      • Revegetation
      • Eco-sourcing
      • Find a restoration group
    • Monitoring
      • Number count
        • Number count method
        • Pros and cons of number counts
        • Data analysis and interpretation
      • Presence/absence surveys
        • Presence/absence survey methods
        • Pros and cons of presence/absence surveys
        • Data analysis and interpretation
      • Mapping spatial extent
        • Spatial extent mapping methods
        • Pros and cons of spatial extent mapping
        • Data analysis and interpretation
      • Photo points
        • Photo point guidelines
    • Habitat protection
      • Legal protection
        • Nga Whenua Rahui
        • QEII covenants
        • DOC Covenants
      • Animal pest control
      • Weed control
      • Fencing
    • Funding
    • Botanic gardens
  • NZPCN
    • News
    • Trilepidea newsletter
    • Events
      • Conference 2022
        • 2022 conference postponement
        • 2022 conference field trips
        • 2022 conference workshops
        • Code of conduct
        • COVID-19 information
        • 2022 conference sponsors
        • Abstract and poster submission
        • 2022 Conference venue and accommodation
      • Conference 2019
      • Conference 2017
      • Conference 2015
        • Speakers
        • Workshops
        • Field trips
        • Charity auction
      • Conference 2013
        • Speakers
        • Timetable
    • Members
    • Council members
      • NZPCN council member profiles
      • Council 2013
      • Council 2012
      • Council 2011
      • Council 2010
      • Council 2009
      • Council 2008
      • Council 2007
      • Council 2006
      • Council 2005
      • Council 2004
      • Council 2003
    • Awards
      • NZPCN Annual Awards
        • 2019
        • 2018
        • 2017
        • 2016
        • 2015
        • 2014
        • 2013
        • 2012
        • 2011
        • 2010
        • 2009
        • 2008
        • 2007
        • 2006
        • 2005
      • David Given Scholarship
        • David Given Scholarship Recipients
    • Shop
    • Donate
    • Favourite Plant
    • Why join NZPCN?
    • Join
  • Help
    • FAQ
      • Joining the Network
      • The Network
      • Network website
      • New Zealand plants
      • The law
      • Your discoveries
    • Query
    • Glossary
  • Contact us