Dominion Museum Notes A BEAUTIFUL NATIVE SHRUB

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 72, 18 December 1937, Page 18

Dominion Museum Notes A BEAUTIFUL NATIVE SHRUB

The Wild Manuka Lends Beauty To New Zealand’s Countryside

Of all New Zealand’s beautiful wild flowering plants, none is more widely distributed or more typical of the country than the shrub popularly called, as the Maoris called it of old, manuka. From north to south, it grows on hill and plain, and its tiny, delicate blossoms lend beauty-to the countryside. It has a wide variety of colours and forms, and is a plant of considerable interest to horticulturists.

In the native plant exhibition recently held in the Dominion Museum, pride of place was given to the manuka. A special table, on which were arranged the principal varieties of this übiquitous plant, was placed in a conspecuous place in the vestibule. The ordinary wild form with single white flowers, single red. double pink, and double white, with numerous intermediates, were displayed, and made a truly remarkable collection. From observing the manuka? in nature one usually concludes from the apparent sameness of the flowers in all kinds of situations that it is a refractory species. But some lucky finds and the art of the horticulturist have resulted in the production of an extensive series of beautiful flowers. The manuka belongs to the myrtle family. To New Zealanders this family will be known by the rata, the pohutiikawa, and the Australian eucalypts. Many useful planta belong to the myrtle family. Among their products are cloves, allspice, Brazil nuts and eucalyptus oil. Usually, the flowers are conspicuous on account of the profusion in which they are produced, and the bright colours. Sometimes, as in the manuka, it is the petals that give the colour to the flower; but more often, as in the rata and the eucalypts, it ’is the stamens. The flowers of the members of the myrtle family are all constructed on a similar plan. The ovary, which contains numerous ovules, later to develop into seeds, surmounts each flower-stalk. It is more or less cupshaped, and along the edge of its flattened top or disc are borne the sepals and stamens.' From the centre of the disc arises the single pistil. Glands in the disc secrete a sweet nectar which is greedily sought after by insects and birds. These unwittingly carry out the important function of carrying pollen from one plant to another. The particular features of the manuka are the small, pungent leaves, spreading petals and the fruit being a five-valved, woody capsule. The manuka belongs to a group or genus known as Leptospermum, a word of Greek origin, meaning slenderseeded. There are about 30 species of Leptospermum, of which'three only are found in New Zealand. Tho remainder are mainly Australian: but a few kinds occur in New Caledonia and the Malay Archipelago. The manuka is found in Australia and Tasmania as well as in New Zealand. Two of the New Zealand species are common. One is the manuka; the other is the kahikatoa. The third species, if, indeed, it really be distinct from the kahikatoa, has been recorded only from the Three Kings and Great Barrier Island. The manuka and kahikatoa are known as the red and white tea-tfce, respectively, these colour terms referring to the wood, which is reddish-brown in the manuka and creamy-white in the kahikatoa.

Now let us look into the flowers of the manuka and see the different forms and colours taken by the different varieties. In the ordinary wild form there are five petals, which spread out, at

Tight angles to the flower-stalk; and there are numerous stamens. In the double ones there appear to be many petals and few stamens; but if examined closely it will be found that the extra petals are in reality transformed stamens. Every stage from stamen to petal may be found. The inner smaller and narrower petals invariably show on their edges anthers in various states of disintegration. All this shows that the anthers and petals are organs of similar type; but they develop differently according to their position on the flower. When some disturbance in the growth of the plant; is brought about, perhaps by cultivation, the stamens may become petaloid, and the double flower results. Another character of the double-flowered manukas is that the ovary, instead of forming a capsule when mature, breaks up into a number of more-or-less leaflike segments. In this case the cause is the separate carpels having their normal growth disturbed, and being transformed into leafy shapes. Naturally, such double flowers produce no seeds.

Now look at the colour. In the whiteflowered forms the petals are white and tho disc green. Fairly common, however, are flowers in which there is some pink. This may vary from a central blotch and radiating veins to completely red petals and red discs. The red colour is inherited independently of flower size or other characters. Thus, in the North Cape district, where there is a large-flowered variety, the pink colour is found in this form as well as in the smalUlowered forms. Tile coloured varieties do not come true from seed because practically all are hybrids in their pink colour. Theoretically, there should be some stable coloured forms coming true from seed; and careful experiments might prove this to be the case; but'in practice we simply broadcast our seed and get a crop showing many phases of colour. The first colour variety reported seems to have been a pink-flowered form discovered in Otago by Sir Frederick Chapman. In 1905 Mr. Nicholls found a crimson manuka near Christchurch. It was from this plant that this beautiful variety was introduced into horticulture under the name of Leptospermum Nicholls!!. It is now widely distributed and has been introduced into England and other parts of the world. Much more might, be written on the manuka. Dr. Solander, the naturalist on Cook’s ship Endeavour, described it as being found everywhere in New Zealand. Cook used manuka leaves to mix with rimu beer to render it less astringent. The concoction was described as very palatable and esteemed by everyone. The whalers used manuka leaves to make an infusion which they drank instead of tea. Manuka tea was said to be wholesome and agreeable when the taste had been acquired. The wood of the manuka is not much used by Europeans except for firewood. By the Maori, however, it was valued for long weapons such as the taiaha, to which a high polish was given.