Synonymy

Hakea meisneriana Kippist, Hooker's J. Bot. Kew Gard. Misc. 7: 114–115 (1855)

T: Swan River Colony, [Dandaragan to Champion Bay, W.A.], s.d. [c. 1851], J.Drummond 6: 191; syn: BM p.p., CGE, E, G-DC, K, LE p.p., MEL, P; Swan River Colony, [Mullean, granite area about Mt Caroline & Mt Stirling, W.A.], s.d. [c. Sept. 1847], J.Drummond 5: suppl. 16; syn: BM, CGE p.p., G, K, LE p.p., MEL, P, PERTH, TCD; Swan River Colony, [Bolgart, Coorow, E of Hawthornden as well as trip to Albany and Cape Riche, W.A.], s.d. [1843–44], J.Drummond 3: 272; syn: BM p.p., CGE p.p., G, G-DC, K, LE p.p., NY, P, TCD.

An image of the NY type specimen of Drummond 272 can be seen on the New York Botanical Garden site.

[Hakea sulcata auct. non R.Br.: C.D.F.Meisner, in J.G.C.Lehmann, Pl. Preiss. 2: 260 (1848), p.p., only with respect to Drummond 3: 272; C.D.F.Meisner, Hooker's J. Bot. Kew Gard. Misc. 4: 208 (1852), p.p., only with respect to Drummond 3: 272 and 5: Suppl. 16]

Description

Erect broom-like shrub, 1–3 m tall, non-sprouting. Branchlets ±glabrous at flowering. Leaves ±terete, hexagonal in cross-section in proximal half, 10-sided in distal half, flat or shallowly concave between angles, 3–12 (–15) cm long, 1–1.5 mm diam., glabrous; longitudinal veins 6 all around at angles in proximal half, 10 in distil half.

Inflorescence a solitary axillary moderately elongated raceme, with 36–44 flowers; pedicels glabrous. Perianth cream-white. Pistil 8–10.5 mm long; gland broadly obovoid.

Fruit 1–4 on usually enlarged rachis, subsessile, obliquely ovate-elliptic, slightly curved, 0.9–1.9 cm long, 0.6–1.2 cm wide, acuminate, scarcely beaked but with prominent readily broken apiculum. Seed acutely obliquely ovate- to obovate-elliptic, 8–11 mm long, 3–4 mm wide; wing extending down both sides of body, more broadly down one side than other, usually notched near base adaxially, blackish brown with black streaks and patches.

Distribution and ecology

Occurs in inland south-western W.A. from Dalwallinu to Coolgardie and south to Dumbleyung and Norseman; an outlying occurrence to the north-west is located 25 km west of Three Springs. Found in sand plain heath, almost without exception on well-drained gravelly sand.

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 Sept.–Nov.

Derivation of name

Named after Carl Friedrich Meisner, later Meissner, (1800-1874), Swiss botanist who produced a world treatment of Proteaceae in de Candolle's Prodromus. Meisner named many Australian Hakea species, chiefly using the collections of James Drummond and Ludwig Preiss.

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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.

The sulcate-leaved members of this group are H. gilbertii, H. invaginata, H. meisneriana, H. rigida, H. scoparia, H. sulcata and H. subsulcata.

Notes

The comparatively elongate conspicuous flowering racemes of this species, 4.5–6 mm long, distinguish it readily from other terete-leaved species in W.A., except H. gilbertii , which differs in having densely appressed-pubescent branchlets at flowering time.

Representative specimens

W.A.: Quairading–Corrigin road, just NW of 135 mile peg [217 km], A.S.George 12918 (AD, PERTH); 25 km W of Three Springs towards Dongara, E.A.Griffin 1612 (PERTH); 74 km W of Kumarl, which is c. 122 km N of Esperance, P.G.Wilson 5714 (PERTH).

Weblinks

Link to FloraBase treatment of this species for WA.

Further illustrations

J.Young, Hakeas of W. Australia, Botanical District of Avon 16, 17, 68 (1997).

I. Holliday, Hakeas. A Field and Garden Guide 126-7 (2005)

J.A..Young, Hakeas of Western Australia. A Field and Identification Guide 71 (2006)

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