Manuka / Kanuka

Red tea tree, White tea tree

Highly valued by Maori, many whakatauki (prophetic sayings) are recorded that reflect the mana (prestige) of thisimpressive plant including this one: “He iti Kahikatoa pakaru rikiriki te Totara”
The Kahikaatoa (Manuka) can reduce the Totara to small pieces. This saying refers to Manuka wedges which are used to split Totara.

Description

Mānuka is a perennial shrub that has very small leaves, up to 12 mm long and about 4 mm wide. Often people use the saying ‘Mānuka mean, Kānuka kind’ in relation to identification of the leaves. Mānuka leaves are spiky opposed to Kānuka which feel softer.
Mānuka also flowers only for a very short amount of time only 2-6 weeks a year, and the flowers only open for 5 days! The flowers of the Mānuka plant are also larger and more spread out than the Kānuka flowers which seem to be smaller and more clumped together. (https://wilddispensary.co.nz/)

Part used	Condition
Leaves; infusion	Kidney and urinary problems, fever, cough, gonorrhoea.
Bark; decoction	Diarrhoea, dysentery, pain, healing, inflamed breasts, sedative
Shoots; chewed	Diarrhoea, dysentery
Seeds; chewed	Stomach problems
Seeds; poultice	Wounds
Seeds; boiled	Anti-inflammatory
Oil	Antiseptic
Gum	Burns, wounds, coughing

Table adapted from Demystifying Rongoā Māori: Traditional Māori Healing BPJ | Issue 13 Photo Credit - pluckytree CC BY-NC-ND 2.0