Hakea recurva Meissn.

Hakea recurva, commonly known as jarnockmert,^[2] is a flowering shrub or small tree in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to an area in the Mid West, northern Wheatbelt and the Goldfields-Esperance regions of Western Australia. It has creams-white to yellow flowers and thick, prickly, curved leaves.

Description

Hakea recurva is a tall shrub or small tree typically growing to a height of 1 to 6 metres (3 to 20 ft) and does not form a lignotuber. It is multi-stemmed with branchlets densely covered in fine, flattened, silky hairs and quickly becoming smooth. The fragrant inflorescence may have 20-40 large cream-yellow flowers in clusters in the leaf axils. The leaves may be straight or recurved ending with a sharp point. Flowering occurs from June to October and the fruit have a smooth surface, obliquely egg-shaped 1.7–2.3 cm (0.7–0.9 in) long and ending in broad short beak.^[3]

Taxonomy and naming

Hakea recurva was first formally described in 1856 by Carl Meisner and the description was published in Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis.^[4][5] The specific epithet (recurva) means "curved", referring to the leaves.^[6]

Distribution and habitat

Hakea recurva grows in open scrub or mulga on granitic loam, sand, sandy-clay, gravel and laterite. Occurs in area bounded by the Murchison River, Laverton and Israelite Bay.

There are two subspecies:

• Hakea recurva subsp. arida^[7] The leaves are generally 4 cm (1.6 in) long and 1.2–1.6 mm (0.047–0.063 in) wide. The overlapping flower bracts 2–3.5 mm (0.079–0.138 in) long, smooth, reddish coloured with a light brown rounded rim. The pedicels 4.5–8 mm (0.18–0.31 in) long and the gland 0.2 mm (0.0079 in) high.^[8]
• Hakea recurva subsp. recurva^[9] The leaves are 5–12 cm (2.0–4.7 in) long and 2–3.2 mm (0.079–0.126 in) wide. The over-lapping flower bracts 4–7.5 mm (0.16–0.30 in) long and pale coloured. The pedicels 8–13 mm (0.31–0.51 in) long and the gland 0.8–1 mm (0.031–0.039 in) high.^[10]

References