Kunzea salterae
Common name
Moutohora kānuka
Synonyms
None - first described in 2014
Family
Myrtaceae
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
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) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – an interim threat classification status has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017 . 2018. 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. Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: DP, RR
Previous conservation status
2013 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
Brief description
Decumbent shrubs, upright shrubs or small much-branched widely spreading trees endemic to Moutohora (Whale Island). Branches slender often pendulous. Branchlets numerous, slender, often pendulous, young stems copiously covered in short erect hairs. Leaves numerous, up to 18 × 2.0 mm needle-like. Flowers white, up to 12 mm diameter, borne in dense ‘corymbiform’ clusters. Fruit a small dry capsule 2.0–2.7 × 2.0–4.0 mm.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: Moutohora (Whale) Island.
Habitat
A local endemic that is widespread in dune and geothermal fields shrubland and regenerating forest of Moutohora (Whale Island).
Detailed description
Shrubs to small trees 0.1–10 × 2–6 m with broad, spreading, somewhat pendulous crowns, or completely decumbent and sprawling. Trunk up to 0.3 m d.b.h., widely spreading to suberect, flexuose. Bark initially firm, sinuous-fluted, elongate, cracking transversely with apices gradually detaching as small lunate flakes. Branches suberect to widely spreading, ascending or pendulous, branchlets slender; sericeous, indumentum copious rarely glabrate to glabrous, sericeous; initial hairs on emergent growth, straight, antrorse-appressed to 0.55 mm, deciduous; otherwise divergent persistent 0.04–0.1 mm, apices ± curled, often admixed antrorse-appressed, straight to somewhat sinuous hairs up to 0.28 mm. Leaves ± spreading to patent; lamina 4–18 × 0.6–2.0 mm, bright green, yellow-green, bronze-green to dark green; linear-lanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate, apex acute to subacute, cuspidate, rarely obtuse to rounded; base attenuate; lamina margin sparsely to densely, sericeous, hairs antrorse-appressed, to 0.5 mm, in 1–2 irregular rows just failing short of leaf apex. Inflorescence a 2–8-flowered corymbiform botryum to 45 mm long. Pherophylls deciduous squamiform, rarely foliose, 0.6–1.8 mm long; squamiform pherophylls brown or amber, broadly deltoid to oblong-ovate, glabrous except for finely ciliate margin and apex; foliose pherophylls bright green, linear, margins and apex finely ciliate. Pedicels 1.1–3.0 mm long, invested in divergent to subantrorse sericeous hairs. Flower buds pyriform to clavate, apex domed with calyx valves not or scarcely meeting. Fresh flowers 9–12 mm diam. Hypanthium 2.1–3.8 × 1.8–3.2 mm, reddish-brown; narrowly obconic to funnelform terminating in a slightly thicker rim bearing five persistent calyx lobes; surface smooth, sparsely hairy to glabrate; hairs subantrorse to antrorse, flexuose. Calyx lobes 5, upright 0.6–0.9 × 1.1–1.3 mm, persistent, broadly to narrowly triangular, glabrate except for ciliate apex. Receptacle dark red at anthesis. Petals 5, spreading, 1.4–1.6 × 1.4–1.6 mm, white, rarely basally flushed pink, orbicular to suborbicular, apex obtuse to rotund, margins finely crimped, oil glands colourless or rose-pink, scarcely evident when fresh. Stamens 28–38 in 1–2 weakly defined whorls, filaments white rarely tinged rose-pink toward base. Anthers dorsifixed, 0.11–0.16 × 0.10–0.14 mm, scutiform to ovoid, latrorse. Pollen white. Anther connective gland prominent, pale orange to pink when fresh, drying orange-brown, spheroidal, finely papillate, somewhat farinose. Ovary 3–4 locular, each locule with 8–10 ovules in two rows on each placental lobe. Style 2.1–3.2 mm long at anthesis, white basally flushed with pink; stigma capitate, up to 1× style diameter, flat, abruptly broadened, pale cream, finely papillate rugulose. Fruits 2.0–2.7 × 2.0–4.0 mm, light brown to grey, cupular to suburceolate. Seeds 0.80–1.00 × 0.45–0.48 mm, narrowly oblong, oblong, oblong-obovate to falcate-oblong or elliptic, testa semi-glossy, orange-brown; surface coarsely reticulate, central portion of cells furnished with short, tubular-spiny, protuberances.
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
Similar taxa
From Kunzea tenuicaulis, K. salterae is distinguished by its allopatric distribution; longer (up to 18 mm), linear-lanceolate rather than oblanceolate to obovate leaves; glabrate, narrowly obconic to funnelform hypanthium; by its flat, narrowly capitate rather than slightly domed centrally depressed stigma; and by the non-testiculate, deeply furrowed thecae. K. salterae is distinguished from K. linearis by the possession of shorter glabrate leaves and short and divergent rather than long, silky and antrorse branchlet hairs. Further, the inflorescences of K. salterae are corymbiform rather than spiciform, and the individual flowers are distinctly pedicellate, never sessile to subsessile. Further differences are given in de Lange (2014).
Flowering
August–April
Flower colours
Red/Pink, White
Fruiting
August–September
Propagation technique
Unknown—probably easily grown from fresh seed. This species is very uncommon in cultivation and its exact needs and preferences are as yet unknown.
Threats
When myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii) was detected in New Zealand (May 2017) the conservation status was upgraded as a precautionary measure from ‘At Risk – Naturally Uncommon’ to ‘Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable’ because, on best advice, it was believed that no indigenous Myrtaceae had resistance to the myrtle rust disease (de Lange et al. 2018). Currently there have been no reports of infected wild trees of Kunzea but inoculation trials of the New Zealand species has demonstrated they are susceptible, and further that over time, infected specimens will die. Only time will tell if wild populations of Kunzea will be threatened by this rust fungus.
Myrtle Rust (Austropuccinia psidii) is an invasive fungus which threatens native myrtle specie. Learn more myrtlerust.org.nz
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
salterae: The epithet ‘salterae’ refers to Dr Josh Salter (1946–) of Auckland, New Zealand. Dr Salter is a botanical illustrator and conifer embryologist.
Taxonomic notes
Kunzea salterae has many features suggestive of a hybrid origin between K. linearis and K. tenuicaulis (de Lange 2014)—yet these species do not have naturally overlapping distributions. This is an aspect that would be worth further research.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 25 August 2014. Description modified from de Lange (2014).
References and further reading
de Lange PJ. 2014. A revision of the New Zealand Kunzea ericoides (Myrtaceae) complex. Phytokeys 40: 185 p. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.40.7973.
de Lange PJ, Rolfe JR, Barkla JW, Courtney SP, Champion PD, Perrie LR, Beadel SM, Ford KA, Breitwieser I, Schönberger I, Hindmarsh-Walls R, Heenan PB, Ladley K. 2018. Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017. New Zealand Threat Classification Series 22. Department of Conservation, Wellington, NZ. 82 p. https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/science-and-technical/nztcs22entire.pdf.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Kunzea salterae Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/kunzea-salterae/ (Date website was queried)