''Kunzea sinclairii'', also known as the Great Barrier Island kānuka, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the myrtle

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Great Barrier Island Great Barrier Island () lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, north-east of central Auckland. With an area of it is the sixth-largest List of islands of New Zealand, island of New Zealand. Its highest point, Mount Hobson, Great Barrier ...

in the

Auckland Region Auckland () is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban areas of New Zealand, urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland, Auckland metropolitan area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands o ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Taxonomy and naming

''Kunzea sinclairii'' was first formally described in 1899 by British botanist Thomas Kirk, who named the species ''Leptospermum sinclairii''. Kirk named the species after

Andrew Sinclair Andrew Annandale Sinclair FRSL FRSA (21 January 1935 – 30 May 2019) was a British novelist, historian, biographer, critic, filmmaker, and a publisher of classic and modern film scripts. He has been described as a "writer of extraordinary flu ...

, who he believed had originally discovered the plant. Kirk visited Great Barrier Island in late 1867, during which time he likely collected specimens of the plant. In 1983, Australian botanist

Joy Thompson Joy Thompson (born Joy Gardiner-Garden, 1923, died 2018) was an Australian botanist. Her main research areas were taxonomy and Myrtaceae. Life and career Thompson's university studies occurred during the second world war and in university vacat ...

revised the genus ''Leptospermum'', transferring the species within the genus ''

Kunzea ''Kunzea'' is a genus of plants in the family Myrtaceae and is Endemism, endemic to Australasia. They are shrubs, sometimes small trees and usually have small, crowded, rather Aroma compound, aromatic leaves. The flowers are similar to those of p ...

''. A new combination was published in 1987, making the plant's currently accepted name ''Kunzea sinclairii''.

Description

Kirk's original

type description A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differ ...

of the species is as follows: Kirk notes that the species is similar to '' K. ericoides'', but the two species can be told apart due to the larger flowers of ''K. sinclairii'', as well as the "white silky leaves" and because the "ovary is sunk fully one-third below the narrow calyx-tube, while the sepals and petals are narrower, and the style is extremely slender". The species typically grows into a wide-spreading shrub, however on occasion can grow into a tree that can reach as tall as .

Hybridisation

The species has been known to form a hybrid with '' K. linearis''. ''Kunzea linearis × Kunzea sinclairii'' has been found on the western shores of Great Barrier Island. The species has also been known to hybridise with ''

Leptospermum scoparium ''Leptospermum'' is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae commonly known as tea trees, although this name is sometimes also used for some species of '' Melaleuca''. Most species are endemic to Australia, with the gre ...

'' (mānuka), and with '' K. robusta''.

Distribution and habitat

This kunzea is endemic to

in the

, New Zealand. It thrives in rocky tors, cliffs and gorges, usually dominating rocky habitats on the island. ''K. sinclairii'' is estimated to cover or 0.3% of the total land area of Great Barrier Island.

Conservation status

''Kunzea sinclairii'' is listed as "threatened – nationally critical" under the New Zealand threat classification series 3.

Gallery

Kunzea sinclairii (Kirk) W.Harris (AM AK5515).jpg,

Lectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes ...

of ''K. sinclairii'' from the

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory ...

herbarium Kunzea sinclairii 1754984.jpg, Flowers of ''K. sinclairii'' Kunzea sinclairii 1754985.jpg, ''K. sinclairii'' growing in a rocky canyon on Great Barrier Island

References

{{Great Barrier Island sinclairii Endemic biota of the Auckland Region, New Zealand Endemic flora of New Zealand Great Barrier Island Plants described in 1899 Taxa named by Thomas Kirk Flora of the North Island