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BEES ON MANUKA BLOSSOMS
by Ginney Deavoll
T
his regional ecocrop
offers more than just
honey blossoms. Not only do the summer
blossoms of the manuka contribute
nectar for our precious healing honey, the
essential oils distilled from the leaves of both
the manuka and lesser known kanuka, are
powerhouses of healing components.
These two indigenous ‘tea tree’ species may
strike you as undignified and scrubby looking
and in fact, farmers often refer to a manuka/
kanuka covered hillside or paddock as ‘scrub’.
However, these hardy, thriving natives – that
often perform a nursery function by providing
shelter for younger seedlings to germinate – are
anything but peskily mundane.
There are now 80 known species of the tea
tree. Maori depended on the healing powers of
NZ’s manuka (
Leptospermum scoparium
) – and
also the kanuka (
Kunzea ericoides
) – to treat a
wide variety of health problems. They used the
plants’ bark, leaves, sap, and seed capsules
in beverages and medicinal preparations. The
wood was also used for gardening tools, fishing,
structures, and weapons. Aborigines in Australia
also found many uses for their own indigenous
species of tea tree, the
Melaleuca alternifolia.
Manuka was discovered by Europeans in 1769,
when Captain Cook landed the HMS
Endeavour
in Mercury Bay off the Purangi River. The
expedition’s botanists, Joseph Banks and his
team of seven, steeped the leaves and found this
‘tea’ beneficial in treating the sailors’ scurvy and
digestive problems. (See pages 32-33)
The tree has been known by its common name
‘tea tree’ ever since and, when discovered by
Cook and Banks, its Aussie mate was called the
same. Generally they belong to the same family,
Myrtaceae, as the myrtle and eucalyptus.
VIVE LA DIFFERENCE!
Those distilling essential oils from the little
leaves of these two ‘ukas’ know the difference.
The blossoms alone differ. The manuka has
single larger flowers, in white or pink, than the
clusters of smaller white kanuka blossoms. If
the blossoms are gone, look at the remaining
seed capsules – again the manuka’s are larger.
The manuka has sharper greener leaves than the
softer shaped and coloured kanuka (see photo
page 25). As shrubs, the outer shape of the two
look similar, but the kanuka can grow forest tall.
Unfortunately, the manuka is more likely to be
infected with a black sooty mould growth, while
kanuka seems resistant.
On comparing the distilled essential oils, the
kanuka will be sweeter smelling and have
a lighter feel. Kanuka is indeed
lighter, and is freed from the leaves
by steam distillation in 40 minutes
versus the few hours needed to
dissolve and release the manuka’s
thicker oil.
Both oils have their distinctive
chemical profiles, and the chemical
composition of individual oil samples
A BONANZA
IN THE BUSH...
22
COROMANDEL LIFE 2016 LATE AUTUMN / WINTER