Kunzea robusta

Detailed description

Trees 8–30 m tall. Trunk 1–6, 0.10–1.0 m d.b.h. Bark stringy, or coarsely tessellated, coriaceous, firmly attached above, detaching basally, often hanging semidetached; peeling upwards along trunk in narrow to broad, tabular strips up to 4 m long. Branches initially erect, soon arching outwards and spreading; branchlets numerous, slender; sericeous, indumentum copious, hairs either long or short antrorse-appressed; if long, then weakly flexuose 0.15–0.38 mm long; if short, not flexuose, 0.09–0.15 mm long. In eastern Coromandel Peninsula and coastal East Cape to Mahia Peninsula, branchlet indumentum in mixtures of divergent 0.03–0.08 mm long hairs, and sparse, 0.1–0.2 mm long, antrorse-appressed hairs. In the Rangitikei region, branchlet hairs of seedling and juveniles divergent, short 0.04–0.10 μm long. Leaves sessile to shortly petiolate, light green or dark green above, paler beneath; oblanceolate, broadly oblanceolate, broadly lanceolate, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, rarely elliptic to obovate; apex subacute to acute, rarely obtuse, rostrate or shortly apiculate, base attenuate to narrowly attenuate; lamina margin initially finely covered with a thin, interrupted band of spreading to antrorse-appressed hairs not or rarely meeting at apex; hairs shedding with age. Lamina of juvenile plants from coastal areas and northern North Island 14.6–28.4 × 1.6–2.5 mm; from inland areas, 3.2–6.3 × 0.7–1.5 mm; adult lamina of plants from coastal areas and northern North Island 4.9–20.1 × 0.9–3.0 mm; from inland areas, 5.8–12.3 × 1.2–2.2. Inflorescence mostly a compact corymbiform to shortly elongate 1–30-flowered botryum up to 60 mm long; extending near end of flowering season as an 4–12-flowered, elongate botryum up to 80 mm long;. Pherophylls deciduous or persistent; squamiform grading into foliose; squamiform pherophylls 0.4–1.2 × 0.3–0.6 mm, broadly to narrowly deltoid or lanceolate, apex acute, subacute to obtuse, margins finely ciliate; foliose pherophylls 6.0–17.9 × 1.1–1.8 mm, elliptic, oblanceolate, broadly lanceolate to lanceolate, apex obtuse, base attenuate; margin densely covered by antrorse-appressed hairs. Pedicels 1.2–5.2 mm long at anthesis. Flower buds pyriform to obconic, apex flat or weakly domed prior to bud burst; calyx valves not meeting. Flowers 4.3–12.0 mm diameter. Hypanthium 2.1–4.1 × 3.0–5.2 mm, broadly obconic to turbinate, sometimes cupular, rim bearing five persistent calyx lobes. Hypanthium surface when fresh faintly ribbed and sparingly dotted with pink or colourless oil glands, these drying dull yellow-brown or brown; either finely pubescent with the ribs and veins conspicuously covered in longer silky, antrorse-appressed hairs, or glabrous; hypanthium similar when dry though with the ribs more strongly defined and clearly leading up to calyx lobes. Calyx lobes 5, coriaceous, 0.52–1.1 × 0.60–1.4 mm, broadly ovate, ovate-truncate to broadly obtuse, glabrate. Receptacle green or pink at anthesis, darkening to crimson after fertilisation. Petals 5–6, 1.5–3.8 × 1.3–3.6 mm, white, rarely pink, orbicular, suborbicular to ovate, apex rounded to obtuse, oil glands colourless. Stamens 15–58 in 2 weakly defined whorls, filaments white. Anthers 0.38–0.63 × 0.18–0.32 mm, ellipsoid to ovoid-ellipsoid or deltoid. Pollen white. Anther connective gland prominent, light pink, salmon pink, yellow to orange when fresh, drying dark orange, orange-brown or dark brown, spheroidal, finely rugulose or papillate. Ovary 5–6 locular. Style 2.0–3.5 mm long at anthesis, white or pinkish-white; stigma broadly capitate, flat, greenish-white or pale pink, flushing red after anthesis. Fruits 2.2–4.6 × 3.2–5.3 mm, maturing greyish white, obconic, broadly obconic to ± turbinate, rarely cupular; hairy, (rarely glabrous). Seeds 0.9–1.1 × 0.35–0.48 mm, oblong, oblong-obovate, oblong-elliptic; testa semi-glossy, orange-brown to dark brown, surface coarsely reticulate.