Hakea meisneriana

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Hakea meisneriana

This is the 27th Hakea I have posted here and although still a few to go, I am beginning to reach the end. The Esperance region is especially rich in this genus where they have colonised most habitats, although Hakea meisneriana only just makes it into my search area, being around 140 km (90 miles) NW of Esperance in the Lake Tay region, but is more common to the northwest.

Locally it favours gravel soils, sometimes with a yellow sand covering, where found in small-scattered colonies that are difficult to spot (merging into other vegetation) unless the plant is in flower, when it then stands out magnificently. The flowers are positioned in clusters in the leaf axils and all bloom pretty much together to produce a most impressive display.

Hakea meisneriana is commonly around 2 metres in height, but can grow to 3 (10’). It has terete leaves, but they have 6-10 pronounced veins, thereby producing a multi-sided shape in cross-section, the leaves are from 60–150 mm in length and held near vertically (broom like), as are the branches. They are slightly prickly, but not excessively so.

The hard woody fruits are noticeably small when compared to most other species, recorded to 2 cm (3/4”) in length, but shorter in the local form. The flowers with most shrubs are white/cream, but an attractive pink form was also encountered. This species is known to bloom between September and November, with the above in bud early September and in full flower early October.

The Hakea genus is a member of the large and diverse Proteaceae family.

Hakea incrassata - Marble Hakea

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Hakea incrassata - Marble Hakea

This interesting small Hakea only just makes it into the Esperance region, with its currently known most easterly occurrence being around 130 km (80 miles) NW of Esperance, where it can be found in a sandy loam over gravel amongst mallee heath vegetation. Here it is well represented although not very widespread, but grows into a low spreading shrub of less than a metre (2’-3’) in height.

The botanical name of Hakea incrassata is due to its thick flat leathery leaves, which combined with a rigid point make handling difficult without getting severely pricked. The flowers although numerous and colourful plus close-up not unattractive, are relatively small and from a distance the branches appear to the cloaked in a strange peach coloured substance.

Although unusual for the Esperance region, this Hakea is common in similar habitat (plus over granite) from this area to north of Geraldton and west to Manjimup, where it can reach 1.5 metres (5’) in height. Despite the small flowers, surprisingly when pollinated (probably by insects), produces large woody ball shaped fruits to 3-4 cm (1.5”) diameter. Another unusual feature is the leaves twist up to 180 degrees from their base.

Flowering is recorded from June to November, but exactly when would very much depend on local weather conditions, with the warmer northern areas being amongst the first, whilst plants in the cooler southern districts more likely the last. Around Esperance, which is somewhere between, from July to September would be the best floral period.

The Hakea genus is part of the large Proteaceae family.

Hakea cygna subsp. cygna - Swan Fruit Hakea

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Hakea cygna subsp. cygna - Swan Fruit Hakea

The Esperance region is blessed with many Hakea spp. that can be found in just about every habitat. There are something like 30 species locally, so virtually anywhere you go, one or more will usually be nearby. They come in all shapes and sizes, some are prickly others not. Flower colour varies to include red, pink, white, yellow/orange and even blue, which are variously pollinated by insects, mammals or birds. Occurring from the coast to the inland mallee, they are found in a number of habitats with the Swan Fruit Hakea locally favouring gravel soils, sometimes with a sandy overlay in scattered colonies west and northwest of Esperance, plus an odd collection at Cape Arid (east of Esperance).

Hakea cygna subsp. cygna extends to the Stiling Range, then NW to the Geraldton region. There are two subspecies, the other and rarer subsp. needlei only grows south of Lake King, which is also west of Esperance but outside the area designated for this website. It differs by having terete or trigonous foliage to only 2 mm in width.

The Swan Fruit Hakea, Hakea cygna subsp. cygna is a bushy shrub with rust coloured new foliage and grows to around 2 metres (7’) in height. The leaves are held upright, are thick, rigid and slightly prickly with a prominent central nerve. The cream/white flowers develop in the leaf axils along the upper branches and tend to flower together, thereby producing a bright but short display for around 3-4 weeks. Flowering can occur anytime from May to October, but locally August and September are the most reliable.

The common name of Swan Fruit Hakea refers to the shape of the seed capsule (fruit), which some have likened to a swan or a ducks body. However to me it appears more like a cygnets head, but whatever you may think, the name seems to have been provided by a very imaginative person.

Hakea strumosa – Proteaceae

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Hakea strumosa – Proteaceae

This species has leaves to 10 cm (4”) in length that are rounded and very sharply pointed, requiring careful handling to avoid being pricked. When not in flower it could be confused with other Hakea spp. or a Daviesia that have similar leaves, thereby permitting it to blend imperceptibly into the environment, unless the seed capsules (fruits) are spotted. These fruits are very large and quite unlike any other, being smooth, oval shaped and about the size of a golf-ball, plus produced on a thick stalk, which is surprising considering the small size of the flowers.

Hakea strumosa is not common in the Esperance region, with its most easterly distribution to the north of the town. It is more common to the south of Lake Tay around 140 km (85 miles) NW of Esperance and becoming more so further west in the Stirling Range and then north, to the east of Perth, preferring sandy loams over gravel. The flowers are red and held in clusters on mature woody branches, the perianth (petal-like in this instance) open wide and quickly fall leaving only the style with the ovary at its base. A few flowers above still have the perianth, but I was a few days late and most had dropped by the time I arrived.

The stiffly upright shrub grows to 1.5 metres (5’) in height and is moderately bushy, it usually flowers in the September/October period, but as they tend to bloom together, you need to be lucky to catch them in full flower as they can finish abruptly. On plants seen relatively few fruits are produced, which may reflect the reserves of the plant required to produce such large woody capsules, rather than any lack of pollinating birds.



Update September 2013
Two photographs added and one removed.

Hakea newbeyana – Proteaceae

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Hakea newbeyana – Proteaceae

Official records place this Hakea outside the Esperance region, but it is to be found 100 km NW of Esperance, where it occurs in gravel and low-lying clay habitats. It is a bushy shrub of 2-3 metres (6’-10’) in height, with the taller shrubs growing amongst crowded Melaleuca and Eucalyptus spp., the shorter in open shrubby mallee heath in the Rollond/Neds Corner Roads region. It is an inland mallee species and formally distributed between Bruce Rock (north of Albany) to the Mt. Holland region (west of Norseman) and 275 km NW of Esperance.

On casual observation, this species is easily confused with a couple of similar looking hakeas, namely H. obliqua subsp. obliqua and H. scoparia. The former is more upright, but less bushy and with large corky fruits, whereas H. scoparia although similarly sized to H. newbeyana, the flowers are larger and more ornamental, plus the fruits are smaller with two distinct projections. Both these species are posted here under their botanical names in the lower right-hand column.

The flowers of Hakea newbeyana are tiny, being around 4 mm (under 3/16”) in length, whereas the fruit grow to 3.5 cm x 2.5 cm (13/8”x 1”) so from little things, big things grow. The flowers are in multiple small clusters that project from the leaf axils to provide a mass floral display, the timing of which is dependent on favourable weather conditions. Due to the small flower size and mass blooming habit, the flowering period is quite short and normally lasts less than a month, which depending on the weather can be anytime from June to October.

Hakea bicornata

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Hakea bicornata

This Hakea is the 22nd species I have posted for the Esperance region and have at least another three to go, which indicates the impressive diversity of these plants in the district. This species is a relatively late one to be described, having only been published in 1990 by Dr RM Barker of the Adelaide Herbarium.

Hakea bicornata has a limited distribution, being mostly recorded within a 100 km (62 mile) radius to the north, northeast and east of Esperance. Although quite common where found on sand/clay soil over low granite outcrops, it is easily overlooked when not in flower, as the long slender upright foliage looks very similar to the common and widespread Calothamnus gracilis.

The woody fruits are about the size of a man’s thumbnail and the species name of bicornata refers to the two conspicuous black horns atop them, which despite their evil appearance are quite fragile with the tips often breaking away. The flowers are a pale cream and relatively small compared to most other local hakeas. However they are quite numerous and emit a mild honey fragrance to attract pollinating insects.

Growing to around 1.5 metres (5’) in height, Hakea bicornata is an openly structured shrub and has been recorded flowering from April to August, although June/July would be its main period.

Holly-leaf Hakea - Hakea ilicifolia

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Holly-leaf Hakea - Hakea ilicifolia

Upon first sight of this Hakea, you could be forgiven it you thought it was a robust form of Hakea varia, the Variable-leaved Hakea as it does bear a strong resemblance to it, as do several other hakeas termed the ‘Varia Group’. Fortunately most do not occur in the Esperance region and even this species is largely restricted to the NW of Esperance, although Robert Brown recorded as its first collector, when he and Matthew Flinders called into Lucky Bay 35 km (20 miles) east of Esperance on the first circumnavigation of Australia in 1801. However this area is not recorded on the WA Herbarium species distribution map, but they do for Albany, another port of call for Brown 420 km (260 miles) further west where Hakea ilicifolia is resonably common, so there may be doubt as to exactly where he made his collection.

Locally, 30-60 km (20-40 miles) from the coast and to the north of Stokes Inlet 65 km (40 miles) west of Esperance, I have found the Holly-leaf Hakea growing in sand over gravel, or directly on gravel, being part of the shrubby Proteaceae heath. Here it grows to around 2 metres (over 6’) in height and occurs in small scattered colonies, but obviously would have been more common before land was cleared for agriculture.

The leaves are thick and rigid with several very sharp spines that can cause serious injury unless handled very carefully. The chunky cream/white flowers open wide to reveal an interesting sharp S bend near the top of the perianth (petal-like) segments, giving the flower clusters a military guise. Pollination is very likely by insects (due to the sharp spiny leaves), as they would not be safe for birds or animals to alight or move over them. Flowering is recorded for August to October, which also agrees with my observations.