''Hakea asperma'', commonly known as the Native Dog hakea, is an

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

shrub of the ''

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...

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 a small area in northeastern

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. An unusual species that has no fruit and only reproduces by suckering.

Description

''Hakea asperma'' is an erect suckering shrub that can grow to in height. It has erect stems and smooth, smaller branches. The rigid grey-green needle-like leaves are long and wide ending in a sharp point. New leaves have white silky hairs becoming rusty coloured toward the apex. It flowers in late spring to early summer around November and produces an

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 ...

containing 6 to 10 white flowers. This species does not produce fruit and only reproduces asexually by root suckering.

Taxonomy

''Hakea asperma'' species was first formally described by botanists

William Molyneux William Molyneux FRS (; 17 April 1656 – 11 October 1698) was an Irish writer on science, politics and natural philosophy. He is noted as a close friend of fellow philosopher John Locke, and for proposing Molyneux's Problem, a thought exper ...

and Susan G. Forrester in 2009 in the journal '' Muelleria''.

Distribution and habitat

''Hakea asperma'' is endemic to the Native Dog Flat area north of Native Dog Falls of the Upper

Buchan River The Buchan River ( ) is a perennial river of the Snowy River catchment, located in the Alpine region of the Australian state of Victoria. Course and features The Buchan River rises below Blue Hill in a remote alpine wilderness area within the A ...

district in

East Gippsland East Gippsland is the eastern region of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia covering 31,740 square kilometres (14%) of Victoria. It has a population of 80,114. Australian Bureau of Statistics2006 Census Community Profile Series: East Gippsland (Sta ...

Victoria where it is presently known from a single population. ''Hakea asperma'' grows in mallee communities on the lower slopes of small steep hills in shallow rocky soils in between rocks to support its roots.

Conservation status

''Hakea asperma'' is classified as "critically endangered" by the Government of Victoria ''Environment Protection Amendment Act 2018'' due to its exceedingly small population size of only a few plants which makes the species highly susceptible to extinction by fire or other unknown occurrences.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18083450 asperma Flora of Victoria (Australia) Plants described in 2009