Hakea propinqua is a flowering shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is a common shrub found in heathlands near Sydney. It has sharp, needle-shaped leaves, white unpleasantly scented flowers and large warty fruit.

Hakea propinqua
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Hakea
Species:
H. propinqua
Binomial name
Hakea propinqua
Occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium
Habit

Description

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Hakea propinqua is a bushy shrub 1–4 m (3–10 ft) tall with unpleasantly scented, small, pale yellow or white flowers occurring in umbels along branchlets in leaf axils. The leaves are thin, terete, about 3 cm (1 in) long, 1 mm (0.04 in) wide, ending with a sharp tip about 1 mm (0.04 in) long. The leaves are softer and at a smaller angle to the stem than the related Needlebush. The warty fruit are egg shaped-elliptic 3.5–4.5 cm (1–2 in) long and 2.5–3 cm (1–1 in) wide ending with two small horns.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy and naming

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Hakea propinqua was first formally described in 1825 by Allan Cunningham and the description was published in Geographical Memoirs on New South Wales.[5][6] The species name is derived from the Latin propinquus, meaning near, referring to the similarity to Hakea nodosa.[3]

Distribution and habitat

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Hakea propinqua grows from coast to ranges on sand or light loam over sandstone in woodland and heath in the Sydney region to the Blue Mountains.[3][4]

References

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  1. ^ "Hakea propinqua". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  2. ^ Les Robinson - Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, ISBN 978-0-7318-1211-0 page 98
  3. ^ a b c Holliday, Ivan. Hakeas:A Field and Garden Guide. Reed New Holland. ISBN 1-877069-14-0.
  4. ^ a b Fairley, Alan; Moore, Philip. Native Plants of the Sydney Region. Aleen and Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74175-571-8.
  5. ^ "Hakea propinqua". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  6. ^ Cunningham, Alan (1825). On the Botany of the Blue Mountains. p. 327.