Synonymy

Hakea erinacea Meisn., in J.G.C.Lehmann, Pl. Preiss. 1: 559 (1845)

T: near Cataracts at head of Swan R. [Susannah Brook], Western Australia, 25 July 1839, L.Preiss 601; syn: B, BR, G, G-DC (microfiche seen), HBG, K p.p., L, LD, LE (as Preiss 261), M, MEL, NY, P, TCD (as Preiss 261); Western Australia, without date, J.Drummond 601; syn: BM p.p., G, K, LE, MEL, OXF, P.

An image of the NY type specimen of Preiss 601 can be seen on the New York Botanical Garden site and of the Leiden specimen on the Nationaal Herbarium Nederland site.

Description

Erect open non-lignotuberous shrub, 0.2–1.6 m tall. Branchlets and young leaves villous; hairs dense, suberect, 0.2–0.3 mm long. Leaves compound-terete, initially trifurcate then dichotomously branched; undivided base 8–16 mm long, grooved on lower surface; ultimate segments 2–9, 2–13 mm long, 0.9–1.3 mm wide, ungrooved.

Inflorescence with 4, 6 or 8 flowers; involucre 2 mm long; pedicels 7–12 mm long, villous, with hairs cream-yellow. Perianth 4–7.5 mm long, villous; hairs mainly white, some ferruginous. Pistil 6–9 mm long; pollen presenter 1.6–2.5 mm long; gland 0.4–0.5 mm high.

Fruit not leaf-like, obliquely narrowly ovate, 1.7–2 cm long, 5–6 mm wide, smooth with circular white pusticles; beak long, obliquely inserted. Seed boomerang-shaped, 14–17 mm long; wing apical only.

Distribution and ecology

Occurs in south-western Western Australia in Perth to Jurien Bay area, and inland to Toodyay, in low open or mixed heath on sandy clay, granite, laterite or sandstone.

To plot an up to date distribution map based on herbarium collections for this species see Australia's Virtual Herbarium. Localities outside the native range may represent cultivated or naturalised records.

Flowering time

Flowers May–Nov.

Derivation of name

Probably from erinaceus, Latin for hedgehog, and a reference to the accumulation of prickles formed from the single mucro at the apex of each leaflet of a compound leaf.

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Relationships

Part of Section Hakea of Bentham (as Euhakea) and characterised by a non-conical pollen presenter, leaves without obvious venation, perianths with or without hairs and fruits with or without horns. Barker et al. (1999) recognised a number of informal morphological groups within the section.

The Trifurcata group all share the characteristics of compound-terete leaves, pubescent pedicel and perianth, lateral pollen presenter and non-woody, non-horned, camouflaged fruits which are not retained for any length of time on the bushes.

Members of the group are H. erinacea, H. lasiantha, H. lasianthoides, H. longiflora and H. trifurcata .

Notes

Hakea longiflora is very close to H. erinacea and the two overlap in distribution; the former is lignotuberous, the latter not. In addition, the undivided portion of the leaves of H. longiflora are not grooved on the lower surface as they are in H. erinacea, the branchlets of H. longiflora have long simple spreading hairs (0.5-1 mm long) not found in H. erinacea and there are only ever 2 or 3 ultimate segments in H. longiflora, whereas there can be up to 9 in H. erinacea.

Representative specimens

Western Australia: Gooseberry Hill, Kalamunda, R.J.Cranfield 1310/80 (PERTH); 2.5 km E of Mt Peron, NE of Jurien, E.A.Griffin 2742 (PERTH); Wongamine Reserve, 18 km ENE of Toodyay, G.J.Keighery 6870 (PERTH); Helena Valley, J.Seabrook 61 (PERTH).

Weblinks

Link to FloraBase treatment of this species for WA.

Further illustrations

J.A..Young, Hakeas of Western Australia. A Field and Identification Guide 42 (2006)

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