New Zealand and Australia prepare to do battle (again) over treasured and lucrative Mānuka honey

Mori liken their trademark application to France's effort to protect the term champagne, while Australia says you can't claim a plant

Long before the name Mnuka became synonymous with a booming honey industry, celebrity endorsements and protracted global disputes, it was known in Mori legend. After Tne Mahuta, the god of forests, separated his parents from their locked embrace, he set out to cloak Papatnuku (his earth mother) in trees. One of these trees, born from his union with Tawake-Toro, was the Mnuka, with its dense, spiky foliage, delicate white flowers and unique pollen.

Mnuka is considered a taonga, or treasure, of which Mori are considered the kaitiaki (guardians). The legend, and the Mori relationship to Mnuka, has become an important tool in a global battle to protect Aotearoa New Zealand's Mnuka honey brand, the most bitter part of which is between New Zealand and Australia.