 Habit. Photo © W.R.Barker |
 Inflorescences. Photo © I.Holliday |
 Close-up inflorescence. Photo © W.R.Barker |
 Inflorescences (rarer pink form). Photo © G.Watton |
 Young shoots, leaves and young buds. Photo © W.R.Barker |
 Foliage and fruits. Photo © W.R.Barker |
Synonymy
Hakea costata Meisn., in J.G.C.Lehmann, Pl. Preiss. 1: 575 (1845)
T: in planitie arenosa Quangen, Victoria, [near Wongamine, E of Toodyay], W.A., 20 Mar. 1840, L.Preiss 533; syn: G, G-DC, LD, LE p.p., NY p.p.; Swan River, W.A., s.d. or 1839 [1841 or before], J.Drummond I; syn: BM, G, G-DC, ?K.
Hakea costata? linearis Meisn., op. cit. 576, nom. illeg. (type variety).
Hakea costata ß lanceolata Meisn., op. cit. 576. T: in planitie arenosa Quangen, Victoria, [near Wongamine, E of Toodyay] W.A., L.Preiss 532; syn: LD, LE p.p., NY p.p.
Description
Erect shrub, 0.3–1.5 m tall, non-sprouting. Branchlets densely villous at flowering. Leaves below flowering parts flat, narrowly obovate to elliptic, 2–5.5 mm wide, in flowering region usually trigonous, linear, rigid, 0.8–1.6 cm long, 1–2.5 mm wide, glabrescent; marginal veins prominent; upper surface venation absent or obscure; lower surface with midvein only prominent.
Inflorescence a solitary axillary umbelliform raceme, clustered into elongate brushes, with 8–12 flowers per axil, strongly perfumed; pedicels glabrous. Perianth cream-white. Pistil 6.5–9 mm long; gland a small obtriangular flap, 0.3–0.4 mm high.
Fruit scarcely woody, subsessile, obliquely broadly ovate, slightly curved, 0.9–1 cm long, 0.6–0.8 cm wide, shortly beaked, apiculate. Seed obliquely broadly elliptic, 6.7–9.3 mm long, acuminate; wing extending more broadly down one side of body, narrowly down other, and sometimes narrowly around base, blackish brown, sometimes with paler patches.
Distribution and ecology
Found on the sand plains north of Perth, W.A., from Kalbarri to Yanchep, in heath.
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 July–Oct.
Derivation of name
From costatus, Latin for ribbed, a reference to the longitudinal ribbing of the leaves of this species.
Relationships
Part of the Conogynoides group recognised by Bentham and characterised by a conical pollen presenter, veined leaves, glabrous perianth and fruits without horns. Barker et al. (1999) recognised a number of informal morphological groups within the section.
One of these was the Ulicina group. This group of 21 Hakea species was combined morphologically because they all have simple flat leaves or leaves which are apparently terete but when looked at in cross section are clearly angled; these angled leaves are longitudinally furrowed and often referred to as sulcate. Furthermore the group has inflorescences with 6-80 small flowers (with 3-18 mm long pistils) and erect woody fruits.
Members of the group are H. aenigma, H. carinata, H. costata, H. cygna, H. dohertyi, H. erecta, H. gilbertii, H. invaginata, H. lehmanniana, H. marginata, H. meisneriana, H. mitchellii, H. myrtoides, H. pycnoneura, H. repullulans, H. rigida, H. scoparia, H. stenocarpa, H. sulcata, H. subsulcata and H. ulicina, mostly from southern WA but also from south-eastern Australia.
Representative specimens
W.A.: 38.5 km NW of Kalbarri turnoff from North West Coastal Hwy, A.C.Beauglehole 11967 (MEL, NSW, PERTH); 5 km N of Yanchep, A.S.George 4254 (PERTH); c. 8 km N of Cataby Ck on Brand Hwy, R.Hnatiuk 760092 (PERTH); 46.5 km from Gingin towards Regans Ford, 28 Sept. 1968, M.E.Phillips s.n. (DNA, NSW).
Weblinks
Link to FloraBase treatment of this species for WA.
Link to the Australian Native Plants Society (
Further illustrations
A.S.George, Introd. Proteaceae W. Australia pl. 109 (1984)
J.W.Wrigley & M.Fagg, Banksias, Waratahs & Grevilleas 383 (1989)
I. Holliday, Hakeas. A Field and Garden Guide 50 (2005)
J.A..Young, Hakeas of Western Australia. A Field and Identification Guide 29 (2006)