Kunzea toelkenii de Lange

(Figs 26, 27, 28). Growth habit shrubs up to 4 × 6 m; ‘juveniles’ usually prostrate and trailing up to 4 m diam., often flowering, taking 2–4 years to develop several, usually central, ascending branches; ‘adults’ forming widely spreading (up to 2 m diam.), characteristically flat-topped shrubs, with pendulous branches and branchlets; branches confined to upper 30–50% of shrub, basal 50–70% usually completely devoid of branches and vegetative growth, sometimes bearing completely pendulous growth; trunk bases usually bearing epicormic, prostrate growth spreading up to 4 m diam. from point of origin; this growth occasionally layering and producing further trunks. Trunk (1–)6(–10), ascending to suberect, serpentine, highly contorted, twisted, bent, and spiralled, 0.10–0.25(–0.40) m d.b.h.; mostly arising from the top of a broad rootstock, and also from layered masses of prostrate epicormic growth; in all cases basal portions of trunks covered with numerous semi-detached, sinuous, rather corky, lengths of bark. Bark early bark firmly coriaceous, grey or grey-brown, ± elongate, initially with few transverse cracks, soon becoming heavily cracked (into highly irregular pieces with rather sinuous margins (especially on branch flanges and decurrent leaf bases) but remaining firmly attached; old bark similar though more distinctly coriaceous-corky, upper surface often deeply corrugated and cracked but not peeling; detaching inwards readily but usually remaining centrally firmly attached; margins sinuous to lunate, often highly irregular and frayed, rarely shortly tabular; early and old bark flakes firm, scarcely crumbling in hand. Branches of trunks numerous, usually confined to the upper 30–50% of trunk; widely spreading, ± serpentine, flexuose, often pendulous and interwoven; branchlets numerous, slender, usually apically pendulous, very leafy, with few to many brachyblasts; those of epicormic growth, straight not flexuose or serpentine, prostrate or pendulous if arising from basal half of trunk, widely spreading; in all cases quadrangular, sericeous, indumentum copious; hairs persistent, of two types: long, appressed often flexuose hairs up to 0.26 mm long, and smaller divergent hairs, with strongly curled and spiralled apices 0.04–0.10(–0.18) mm hyaline to translucent (appearing white when young maturing grey). Vegetative buds conspicuous; at resting stage 1.2(–1.8) mm diam.; scales scarious, deciduous, (0.4–)0.9(–1.2) mm long, brown to red-brown, broadly ovate to ovate-deltoid, apex obtuse to rounded; midrib prominent, strongly keeled in upper half, occasionally prolonged to a long cuspidate tip, lateral veins usually absent, oil glands usually absent, upper half of scale margins, keel, and keel apex ciliate. Leaves well spaced along branchlets, spreading, patent to recurved; lamina (2.6–)5.7(–8.5) × (0.6–)1.6(–2.5) mm, dark glossy green or bright-green, margins and base usually flushed red; spreading, obovate, clavate, to broadly oblanceolate; weakly to strongly recurved from about 30–50% of total length; apex sharply acute to apiculate, base attenuate; adaxial surface concave very rarely flat, finely glandular punctate; oil glands up to 280, more evident when dry; midrib slightly raised near base, otherwise not evident for rest of length, finely covered in deciduous, sericeous, antrorse-appressed, hairs in lower half otherwise glabrous; abaxial surface convex, glandular punctate, oil glands up to 180, more evident when dry; midrib raised for most of length, glabrous; lamina margin finely to densely sericeous, hairs weakly flexuose, antrorse, subantrorse to spreading, up to 0.5 mm long, hyaline to translucent, appearing white to naked eye, aligned in 1–2 uninterrupted rows meeting just short of leaf apiculus. Perules scarious, persistent, (0.5–)1.0(–1.8) mm; basal ones dark brown to red-brown, broadly ovate, ovate, ovate-rostrate, to lanceolate, without oil glands, margins involute, ciliate, midrib strongly keeled with 1–2 usually finely ciliate lateral veins on each side, keel prolonged as a short to long, deciduous, obtuse-tipped, densely ciliate, cuspidate apiculus; remaining perules similar but smaller, chartaceous, (0.3–)0.8(–1.0) mm long. Inflorescence a compact, (1–)7(–10)-flowered corymbiform botryum up to 40 mm long, mostly borne on alternate, distinctly spiralled, basally densely leafy, brachyblasts up to 12 mm long; inflorescences at the ultimate branchlet terminus uncommon (except in trailing epicormic growth), if present, often rather elongated (up to 80 mm long) and bearing well developed terminal vegetative growth, often with the uppermost flowers in elongated shoots male. Inflorescence axis densely invested with divergent hairs. Pherophylls deciduous (falling very early), initially foliose, soon squamiform, tightly clasping pedicel or spreading, 0.4–1.6 mm long, foliose pherophylls green to bronze-green, shortly lanceolate to obovate, squamiform pherophylls amber-brown to brown, narrowly deltoid to ovate, both types adaxially deeply concave, margins and apex finely ciliate, grading into leaves at inflorescence axis apex. Pedicels (1.6–)2.9(–3.8) mm long at anthesis, usually elongating slightly after anthesis, terete, copiously invested with short, divergent to subantrorse, silky hairs. Flower buds bluntly clavate to obconic, rarely pyriform, apex flat prior to bud burst with calyx valves not meeting. Fresh flowers when fully expanded (3.6–)6.8(–9.0) mm diam., often functionally male toward end of flowering season. Hypanthium (1.7–)2.4(–3.2) × (2.8–)3.6(–4.3) mm, with free portion 0.6–0.9 mm long, green, dark green or red-green; obconic to funneliform, terminating in light-green to pink-green membranous rim bearing five persistent calyx lobes; surface smooth when fresh somewhat wrinkled when dry, with weakly defined ridges leading up to calyx lobes; sparingly dotted with pink or colourless oil glands otherwise with basal half finely and rather densely puberulent with areas leading to calyx lobes distinctly glabrescent; hairs silky, spreading, subantrorse to antrorse-appressed, often with smaller divergent hairs underlying larger appressed ones. Calyx lobes 5, upright (not spreading), submembranous, (0.8–)1.0(–1.2) × (0.7–)1.0(–1.2) mm, persistent, ovate, broadly ovate to ovate-deltoid, of uniform thickness in transverse section, without keel, often uniformly green, otherwise with central portion of lobe darker green or pinkish green, with margins usually pale green to green flushed with pink, surface somewhat glandular punctate, oil glands inconspicuous, ± colourless, otherwise glabrous except for distinctly spreading, ciliate margins. Receptacle usually pink at anthesis, consistently darkening to dark magenta or maroon-black after fertilisation. Petals 5(–6), 1.5–1.9(–2.8) × 1.5–1.9(–2.6) mm, white, orbicular to very broadly ovate, apex obtuse to rotund, margins ± entire, often finely folded or crimped 1–5 times, oil glands colourless. Stamens 20–36(–50) in 1(–3) weakly defined whorls, arising from receptacular rim, filaments white. Antipetalous stamens (2–)3(–6), antisepalous (1–)3(–8). Outermost antipetalous stamens weakly incurved or outcurved, on filaments 1.2–3.6 mm long, inner stamen if present, 0.8–1.2 mm, incurved or outcurved, a further 1–3 stamens, of similar length are very rarely present at the base of the outermost antipetalous pair. Antisepalous stamens usually shorter than outermost antipetalous stamens, sometimes of comparable length, generally 0.6–3.2 mm, mostly incurved, outcurved or in mixtures of both. Anthers dorsifixed, 0.06–0.09 × 0.05–0.08 mm, testicular-oval to testicular-ellipsoid, latrorse. Pollen white (12.2–)13.6(–17.8) μm. Anther connective gland prominent, pale lemon to pink when fresh, drying yellow to pale orange, spheroidal, finely papillate. Ovary absent in males flowers, otherwise 3–4(–5) locular, each with 12–20(–24) ovules in two rows on each placental lobe. Style absent in male flowers, otherwise 1.0–1.4(–1.8) mm long at anthesis, elongating slightly after anthesis, white; stigma capitate, scarcely wider than style, flat, greenish-white, cream or pale pink, surface papillate. Fruits rarely persistent, (2.1–)2.6(–3.0) × (2.5–)3.0(–3.7) mm, light brown to grey, obconic, broadly obconic, to cupular, splits concealed by dried, suberect to erect, free portion of hypanthium. Seeds 0.50–1.00(–1.02) × 0.52–0.60(–0.68) mm, oblong, oblong-obovate, curved near apex, laterally compressed, 2–3-angled with convex to flattened faces, apex rounded to subacute; base oblique, ± flattened; testa semi-glossy, amber, orange-brown to brown, surface coarsely reticulate. FL: (Sep–)Oct–Nov. FT: Oct–Sep. Chromosome Number n = 11II, 2n = 22 (see de Lange and Murray 2004).

(Fig. 7). Endemic, New Zealand, North Island, Bay of Plenty (2–10 m a.s.l.). Kunzea toelkenii is known from a small strip of sand dune country (the Wahieroa Dunes) between the eastern bank of the Tarawera River mouth and the west bank of the Rangitaiki River mouth, near Thornton, and from another small population on a barrier sandspit island, Whangakopikopiko (Tern Islet), at the mouth of the Ohiwa Harbour. The current distribution is undoubtedly relict; the habitats occupied are remnants of indigenous woody sand dune vegetation that formerly extended as far west as Papamoa. Although I have been unable to find any supporting herbarium evidence, locals recollect that much of the sand country between Papamoa and Pikowai beach once supported dense ‘kanuka [Kunzea] shrublands’ (G. Wrigley pers. comm.). From the descriptions given by these people which include such phrases as ‘tortured growths....pendulous shrubs.......... suckering stems’ it is quite likely that Kunzea toelkenii was the species involved, and that it was once a locally important species of the Bay of Plenty sand dune country.