In 1983 Leptospermum ericoides was removed from Leptospermum and placed along with a number of other Australian and New Zealand Leptospermum trees and shrubs into Kunzea as K. ericoides. The move was pragmatic, the agent Dr Joy Thompson was revising Leptospermum and in the process needed to move from it those species which had been incorrectly placed within that genus. No attempt was made by Thompson to revise Kunzea ericoides but her taxonomic decision had far reaching consequences, as over night, an endemic New Zealand tree was now shared with Australia, and the Australian component of that ‘species’ is amongst some of the most weedy shrubs and trees in the Myrtaceae. Tonight’s talk visits the whole story of Kunzea ericoides, starting with the French who collected the type specimen from what is now Abel Tasman National Park in the 1820s and ending with the conclusion that New Zealand has ten species, all endemic. This is a tale of botanical intrigue, of local people being shut down by the heavy weights of the time, Joseph Hooker and Thomas Cheeseman, of taxonomic splitters and lumpers, of cryptic speciation, and all the complicated but necessary processes involved in unraveling a story that ended up moving between continents and highlighting the long-term consequences of making expedient taxonomic decisions.

Tonights speaker is Dr Peter J. de Lange FLS, Senior Scientist and Principal Science Advisor, Department of Conservation and Adjunct Professor, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Sassari, Sardegna. The talk is based on Peter’s PhD work on Kunzea ericoides the thesis of which he completed in 2007 but from which he has been steadily publishing results, completing the final publication from that work a monograph of the New Zealand members of K. ericoides complex in August 2014.

Location: Lecture Room S.G.01, S Block, University of Waikato.

S block is most easily access by parking on Hillcrest Road and entering the campus at Gate 8, follow the driveway to its end, and walk between G and and A blocks. S Block will be in front of you. S.G.01 is at the far end of the building (near the library building), on the ground floor. The talk will start at 7.30 pm.