''Hakea actites'', commonly known as the mulloway needle bush or wallum hakea is a shrub or tree of the Proteacea family native to areas in north eastern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and south eastern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. White nectar rich flowers appear in abundance from late autumn to early spring.

Description

''Hakea actites'' is a prickly shrub or tree growing to high and forms a

lignotuber A lignotuber is a woody swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire. Other woody plants may develop basal burls as a similar survival strategy, often as a response t ...

. Smaller branches are silky to densely covered with short matted hairs. The light green leaves are smooth, needle-like long and in diameter ending with a sharp point long. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

consists of 1-6 white flowers appearing in clusters in leaf axils. Flower stalks are long covered in short rusty coloured matted hairs. The

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

is long covered sparsely or with matted silky white and rusty coloured hairs.

Perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when ...

long, white and smooth, occasionally a bluish-green with a powdery film. The wrinkled egg-shaped fruit are long and wide ending with a smooth rounded beak and obscure horns. Occasionally fruits appear with coarse blister like protuberances. Flowers from May to September. ''Hakea actites'' resembles the better known ''

Hakea sericea ''Hakea sericea'', commonly known as bushy needlewood or silky hakea, is a large shrub with a profusion of mainly white flowers from July for several months. It is endemism, endemic to eastern Australia. It has become an environmental weed in so ...

''.

Taxonomy and naming

''Hakea actites'' was first formally described by botanist William Barker in 1996 and the description was published in the ''

Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden The Adelaide Botanic Garden is a public garden at the north-east corner of the Adelaide city centre, in the Adelaide Park Lands. It encompasses a fenced garden on North Terrace (between Lot Fourteen, the site of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital ...

''. The type specimen was collected from near

Angourie Angourie is a coastal village in the Clarence Valley Council of New South Wales, Australia. Angourie is located 5 km south of Yamba, New South Wales, and is at the northern tip of Yuraygir National Park. Towns that surround Angourie are Ya ...

on the North Coast of New South Wales. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

word (''aktites'') meaning "shore dweller" referring to the coastal regions where the species is found. Mulloway needle bush is part of the Sericea group, a mostly eastern states group with simple

terete Terete is a term in botany used to describe a cross section that is circular, or like a distorted circle, with a single surface wrapping around it.Lichen Vocabulary, Lichens of North America Information, Sylvia and Stephen Sharnoff/ref> This is us ...

leaves, inflorescences containing few flowers, hairy pedicels and single woody fruits. Other members of the group include '' Hakea constablei'', ''

Hakea decurrens ''Hakea decurrens'', commonly known as bushy needlewood, is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Proteaceae. Description ''Hakea decurrens'' is a semi-prostrate to erect scrambling bush or small tree tall. Smaller branches have sh ...

'', ''

Hakea gibbosa ''Hakea gibbosa'', commonly known as hairy hakea or needlebush hakea, is a shrub of the family Proteaceae, and is endemic to south eastern Australia. It has very prickly foliage, cream-yellowish flowers from April to July, and provides shelter fo ...

'', ''

Hakea lissosperma ''Hakea lissosperma'', commonly known as needle bush and mountain needlewood, is a species of ''Hakea'' native to parts of south eastern Australia. Description The mountain needlewood is a spreading shrub or small tree commonly with spiny le ...

'', '' Hakea macraeana'', ''

'' and '' Hakea tephrosperma'' among others.

Distribution and habitat

''Hakea actites'' is found in swampy locations in coastal areas from around

Hervey Bay Hervey Bay () is a city on the coast of the Fraser Coast Region of Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately or 3½ hours' highway drive north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is located on the Hervey Bay (Queensland), bay of ...

in south-eastern Queensland in the north to a little north of

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr ...

in the south. It grows well in damp sand to sandy clay soils and is often part of open wallum heathland and ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

'' forest communities.

Uses in horticulture

A very hardy species that may be grown from seed and suited to coastal swampy situations. Provides protection, nesting sites and nectar for small birds due to its prickly habit and profuse flowering.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18080179

actites ''Actites'', commonly known as the dune thistle, beach thistle or coastal sow thistle, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is endemic to Australia and contains only one species, ''Actites megalocarpa'' . It is a large, c ...

Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1996 Taxa named by William Robert Barker