For 31 years, New Zealand's ubiquitous kanuka tree has been lumped with an Australian weed, but one man's 15 years of research now shows it is distinct and there are actually 10 species.
"Bad taxonomy kills", according to the Science Media Centre, but kanuka now has a new life and is actually far more diverse than originally thought.
Department of Conservation botanist Peter de Lange has published his study of kanuka in the open access journal PhytoKeys.
He says pre-European Maori already knew of many of these species. They were also recognised as distinct by the missionary botanist William Colenso in the 1840s.
But in 1983, kanuka - then known as Kunzea ericoides - and the manuka species Leptospermum sinclairii were merged with three other Australian species in the Kunzea genus.
They were then regarded as identical to the Australian agricultural pests known as Burgan.
But following 15 years of part-time research, using hybridisation, cellular studies, molecular and ecological studies, Dr de Lange has concluded Australia and New Zealand do not share Kunzea ericoides.
"To do this work properly I had to first unravel which Kunzea name actually applied to which 'race' out there," he told AAP.
This required finding type specimens not only in New Zealand but also in Paris.
"Then I had to grow this range of variation - Kunzea is a tree so it takes time from seed to flowering - make hybrids to check who could cross with who."
He has actually recognised seven Kunzea species new to science. The most common, Kunzea robusta, is the largest. It can grow to 30 metres high and its trunk one metre in diameter.
Others species have also been named after their properties: amathicola, serotina, salterae, tenuicaulis, triregensis and toelkenii.
Kunzea toelkenii is named after Australian Kunzea expert Hellmut Toelken, who helped Dr de Lange with his work.
Kunzea are important keystone species, either forming their own distinct forest types or helping to heal damaged forest. They also provide an important habitat for geckos, orchids and fungi.
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