Synonymy

Hakea eyreana (S.Moore) McGill., Telopea 1: 30 (1975)

Grevillea eyreana S.Moore, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 45: 210 (1920). T: on sand hills in Lake Eyre district ( Lat. 27°30' )[ S.A.], s.d., Capt. Sturt s.n.; syn: BM, NSW. South Australia, on sandhills in Lake Eyre district (lat. 27°30' ); Capt. Sturt

[Hakea intermedia auct. non Ewart & O.B.Davies: J.M.Black, Fl. S. Australia 2: 160 (1924), p.p.]

[Hakea divaricata auct. non L.A.S.Johnson: C.D.Boomsma, Native Trees S. Australia 197 (1972), p.p.]

[Hakea ivoryi auct. non F.M.Bailey: C.D.Boomsma, Native Trees S. Australia 2nd edn, 262 (1981), p.p.]

[Hakea ednieana auct. non Tate: G.M.Cunningham et al., Pl. W. New South Wales 216 (1981)]

Description

Bushy to slender tree 2–4 (–7) m high, resprouting from base. Branchlets persistently densely white-tomentose. Leaves compound, terete, 1.5–9.5 cm long, persistently densely white-pubescent; final segments 4–15, 0.2–6 cm long, 0.9–1.5 mm wide, spreading, ±rigid, straight; undivided base 0.8–2.5 cm long.

Inflorescence axillary with 35–105 flowers; rachis 55–160 mm long, white-pubescent, rarely glabrous, with similar indumentum on pedicel and perianth. Flowers greenish yellow to yellow; pedicels 6–13 mm long. Perianth recurved in bud, 5.5–9.5 mm long. Pistil 19–26 mm long; style recurved at least initially or ±straight; pollen presenter oblique.

Fruit 2.5–4.2 cm long, glabrous; valves (0.8–) 1–1.4 cm wide, ovate-oblong or narrowly so; red-brown wood zone 1–1.5 (–2) mm wide; pale wood zone (2–) 4–6 (–7) mm wide; beak very long. Seed occupying most of valve, 20–33 mm long, 7–10 mm wide; wing decurrent c. halfway on one side only.

Distribution and ecology

Confined to the Simpson Desert and 'Channel Country' to the east in north-eastern S.A., south-eastern N.T., south-western Qld and north-western N.S.W.; in sand-dunes or nearby creeks, swales or gibber flats.

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

Named for the locality of the type specimen of this species, Lake Eyre, which was in turn named in honour of the English explorer who first saw it, Edward John Eyre.

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Relationships

Part of the group referred to as the Corkwoods (Grevilleoides p.p. of Bentham, Lorea group of Barker et al. 1999) because the bark of these plants is usually corky. Pollen presenters are usually not conical (except in H. ednieana ), leaf venation is obscure, inflorescences are long and floriferous and mostly pendent and many fruits are formed. These fruits are not particularly woody, are usually obscurely horned, not usually retained for a long time on the plant and the seed occupies most of the valve face.

Members of this group include H. chordophylla, H. divaricata, H. ednieana, H. eyreana, H. fraseri, H. ivoryi, H. lorea, H. macrocarpa and H. pulvinifera . They tend to occur in drier areas of Australia.

Notes

Hakea eyreana is characterised by its persistently woolly tomentose branchlets and highly divided leaves. It has been confused in the past with, or may be allied to, other corkwoods with similar branchlet indumentum.

Hakea ednieana differs in its porrect pollen presenter and consistently small hardly woody fruit. A bridging population referred to H. ednieana at Bloods Ra., N.S.W. is discussed under that species.

Hakea ivoryi differs in its often simple or few-segmented leaves and its appressed branchlet pubescence.

Plants north-west of the Simpson Desert with few-segmented leaves of moderate length but shorter than few-segmented leaves in H. lorea subsp. lorea in central Australia (e.g. P.K.Latz 12656, Rodinga Ra., Simpson Desert, N.T.) need to be examined as to their relationships with the two species.

Representative specimens

N.T.: 61 km from Manners Creek Stn towards Tarlton Downs, C.H.Gittins 1964 (BRI, NSW); 27 km NW of Andado Stn, J.Must 110 (DNA). S.A.: 25 km E of Cordillo Downs HS, F.J.Badman 216 (AD). Qld: c. 90 km WNW of Birdsville, D.E.Boyland 317 (BRI). N.S.W.: Binerah Downs, c. 64 km NW of Tibooburra, P.L.Milthorpe 914 (AD, NSW).

Weblinks

Link to PlantNET treatment for NSW.

Link to SA eFlora treatment.

More photographs of this species can be seen on the Australian National Botanic Gardens site.

Further illustrations

W.R.Barker in J.P.Jessop & H.R.Toelken (eds), Fl. S. Australia 4th edn, 1: 146, fig. 75C (1986);

G.M.Cunningham et al., Pl. W. New South Wales 216 (1981), as H. ednieana ;

W.R.Elliot & D.L.Jones, Encycl. Austral. Pl. 5: 202 (1990)

P.Nikulinsky & S.Hopper, Soul of the Desert 69, pl. 18 (2005)

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