''Hakea amplexicaulis'', commonly known as prickly hakea, is a shrub

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to south west Western Australia. An attractive small shrub with unusual stem clasping, sharply serrated foliage and a profusion of sweetly scented variable coloured flowers from late winter to spring.

Description

''Hakea amplexicaulis'' is an upright, straggly shrub growing to high with smooth smaller branches and forms a lignotuber. The leaves are narrowly egg-shaped or totally egg-shaped, long and wide. The stem clasping leaves are sharply toothed with 12–30 long teeth on each side, smooth, bluish-green with a powdery film. 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 ...

has 36-42 large, rounded and strongly scented flowers on a short stem. Clusters of white, cream, pink or red flowers appear in leaf axils; they may become pink or a reddish hue as they age. 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. The

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 ...

is smooth long, white occasionally with a pink tinge and the style is smooth. The fruit are egg-shaped long and wide, smooth with a few sharp spines, and taper to a blunt beak. Flowering occurs from August to November.

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in '' Transactions of the Linnean Society of London''. 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 ...

''(amplexicaulis)'' is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

words ''amplexus'' meaning "encircled" or "embraced" and ''caulis'' meaning "stem", referring to the stem-clasping habit at the base of the leaf.

Distribution and habitat

''Hakea amplexicaulis'' is found in jarrah forests from Perth to Albany. This species grows in clay, loam and gravelly acidic soils in a well-drained site in sun or partial shade. A showy shrub, good for wildlife habitat and is moderately frost hardy.

Conservation status

''Hakea amplexicaulis'' is classified as "not threatened" by Western Australian government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

Gallery

Hakea amplexicaulis - Flickr - Kevin Thiele.jpg Hakea amplexicaulis - Flickr - Kevin Thiele (1).jpg

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3013132 amplexicaulis Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1810