{"slug":"leptospermum-scoparium","scientific_name":"Leptospermum scoparium","common_names":["Mānuka","Manuka","Tea tree","Kahikātoa"],"family":"Myrtaceae","type":"broadleaf_evergreen","mature_height_m":4,"mature_spread_m":3,"growth_rate":"fast","lifespan_years":60,"hardiness_zones":[9,10],"sun":"full","water":"low","soil":"Almost any soil from swamp to dry clay and stony hillsides; very tolerant of poor ground","native_range":"Native to New Zealand (all three main islands and the Chathams) and south-east Australia (Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales).","description":"A hardy shrub or small tree to about 5 m with small prickly aromatic leaves and white to pink flowers almost year round. It is the pioneer species of New Zealand restoration, planted by the million as a nurse crop that shelters slower natives, stabilises eroding hill country and feeds bees that make the famous mānuka honey. Lives a few decades then gives way to taller forest.","care":"Plant at close spacing in full sun; needs no watering after the first summer and resents rich, wet soil. No pruning required; it does not resprout from old wood. Myrtle rust (found in NZ since 2017) is the main disease threat; mānuka blight (scale insect and sooty mould) weakens plants in some districts. Unpalatable to stock.","benefits":["pollinators","erosion_control","drought_tolerant","flowers","fast_canopy","wildlife","small_space"],"uses":["reforestation","hedgerow","small_yard","riparian","screening"],"cautions":["short_lived"],"image_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/M%C4%81nuka_flowers_and_foliage_-_Hooton_Reserve%2C_Auckland.jpg","image_credit":"Wikimedia Commons, file Mānuka_flowers_and_foliage_-_Hooton_Reserve,_Auckland.jpg (see file page for author and licence)","sources":["https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/leptospermum-scoparium-var-scoparium/","https://toolkit.tanestrees.org.nz/growth-yield-calculator/species-information/","https://www.gbif.org/species/3181762","https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=282856"],"data_note":null,"updated_at":"2026-11-08T01:00:46.205Z","page_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/leptospermum-scoparium","markdown_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/leptospermum-scoparium.md","regions":[{"country":"AU","region":"NSW","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/3181762"},{"country":"AU","region":"TAS","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/3181762"},{"country":"AU","region":"VIC","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/3181762"},{"country":"NZ","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":"Not Threatened (2023)","source_url":"https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/leptospermum-scoparium-var-scoparium/"},{"country":"GB","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Garden plant; introduced per WCVP","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/3181762"},{"country":"US","region":"HI","locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Introduced per WCVP","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/3181762"}],"license":"CC-BY-4.0"}