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Kanuka Kunzea robusta, – kahikatoa (warrior wood), red tea tree, red manuka
Kanuka is endemic to NZ
Kanuka is commonly called tea tree as is Manuka
Kanuka and Manuka can be confused so below is a table comparing the two. Kanuka is a prolific scrub-type tree and can growing up to 25m tall (normally about 15m) and can live for150 years.
The Kanuka trunk and branches are usually clad in long, leathery strips of bark, the flowers of Kanuka are usually solitary but can occur in clusters.
Where Kanuka is found
Kanuka surrounds the lodge e.g the confidence course, nature trail and tracks.
Kanuka is common throughout lowland and mountain scrub and along forest margins of the North and South Islands from the Three Kings Islands to about Dunedin in Otago. The species has a wide range of tolerances and can be found from sea level to 1800 metres. It grows well on all soil types except water-logged soils, and is tolerant of wind, drought and frost
Kanuka’s role in the forest
Kanuka is considered a successional species (a species which occurs a point of time when a forest is regenerating) as it is one of the first species to regenerate on cleared land.
Kanuka tends to establish after soon Manuka. Kanuka provides an excellent nursery for other, slower growing native plants and eventually these other species will dominate the forest e.g Kauri, Rata, Rimu.
On our about forest regeneration page it would be seen to fit into shrubland – young forest sector.
If Kanuka and Manuka grow together, kānuka eventually replaces mānuka because it grows taller and lives longer. Not as adaptable as mānuka, kānuka does not tolerate wet or very infertile soils, or grow in subalpine areas. Where fires are frequent, mānuka usually gains the upper hand as fire destroys the kānuka seed capsule.
Significance to Maori
Maori had a wide range of uses for Kanuka, particularly those requiring a hard, strong timber. It was the most favoured wood for the making of agricultural implements –mainly different types of digging sticks. Another important use was for weapons – taiaha, tewhatewha, and koikoi (a double pointed spear). The bark was often used as an insulating material between the inner and outer walls of whare, or roofing .
Medicinal
Medicinally the leaves can be used to make a tea which, when strong, has emetic qualities; when weak it can be a replacement for conventional tea. The shoots and capsules when chewed will relieve dysentery while the inner bark can be boiled and used as a mouthwash and to treat mouth and eye troubles.
Cooking
The hard wood is ideal for fires as is slow burning and hot.
Difference between Kanuka and Manuka
The physical identification between the two plants is often difficult even for experienced observers.
| Manuka | Kanuka | |
|---|---|---|
Endemic to New Zealand |
No | Yes |
Where |
Manuka is a first generation regenerating shrub and will grow in the open. e.g along the road side | Kanuka generally establishes after and often under Manuka. It grows taller and lives longer making it a type three regenerating tree. |
Growth |
Manuka is a shrub growing to 3-4 metres | Kanuka is a tree and grows to 5-7 metres or more in height and is faster growing and taller growing |
leaves |
Manuka has large numbers of very small leaves, up to 12 mm long and about 4 mm wide. Manuka leaves are very small and prickly to touch | kanuka Leaves have no sharp points and are soft to touch |
Flowers |
Manuka has has white flowers 10-12mm and flowers profusely a little earlier than kanuka and additionally in irregular bursts at other times. The photos were taken of flowers in may 2017 | Kanuka’s are smaller and flowers once a year in mid Summer only. The flowers are white 4-5 mm wide. |
seeds |
Manuka capsules are approximately 8–10mm in diameter and hang on for much longer | Kanuka ‘s are smaller – 4–5mm in diameter. Generally there are no seed capsules except briefly in late summer. |
Bark |
Manuka bark is papery, rather flaky with shorter flakes and brown. Mānuka plants are sometimes covered with sooty mould, a black fungus that feeds on the honeydew produced by scale insects. | The trunk and branches are usually clad in long, leathery strips of bark, rather than the short, papery, rather flaky brown bark also typical of the tree forms of mānuka/kāhikatoa |
Wood colour |
mānuka is red tea tree, | kānuka is white tea tree |
Longevity |
Manuka is comparatively short lived, generally to about 60 years | Kanuka will live for up to 150 years |
Smell test |
If the tissue is harsh to the feel and is without scent or only mildly aromatic the specimen is manuka | If the tissue is soft and the smell strongly aromatic then the specimen can be known as kanuka or Kunzea ericoides. |
Honey |
DHA (dihydroxyacetone) in Manuka. This is the sought after product which make Manuka honey so valuable | AGP (arabinogalactan protein) in Kanuka honey. Not the antibiotic that is sough after in Manuka but considered to have healing properties |
