Kunzea sinclairii, also known as the Great Barrier Island kānuka,[1] is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Great Barrier Island in the Auckland Region, New Zealand.
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, who he believed had originally discovered the plant.[2] Kirk visited Great Barrier Island in late 1867, during which time he likely collected specimens of the plant.[2] In 1983, Australian botanist Joy Thompson revised the genus Leptospermum, transferring the species within the genus Kunzea. A new combination was published in 1987, making the plant's currently accepted name Kunzea sinclairii.[3]
Kirk's original type description 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 .[2]
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.[2] The species has also been known to hybridise with Leptospermum scoparium (mānuka), and with K. robusta.
This kunzea is endemic to Great Barrier Island in the Auckland Region, New Zealand.[2] It thrives in rocky tors, cliffs and gorges, usually dominating rocky habitats on the island.[2] K. sinclairii is estimated to cover or 0.3% of the total land area of Great Barrier Island.[2]
Kunzea sinclairii is listed as "threatened – nationally critical" under the New Zealand threat classification series 3.