''Hakea candolleana'' is a shrub in the family

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 ...

native to areas along the west coast in the Wheatbelt and

Mid West The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

regions of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. A cream-white winter flowering species, useful as a garden ground cover.

Description

''Hakea candolleana'' is a dense low growing

lignotuberous 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 ...

multi-stemmed shrub. Typically growing to a height of generally wider than tall. Smaller branches are densely covered in short matted hairs or flattened fine silky hairs either white or rusty coloured. Occasionally branches quickly become smooth and a 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 ...

consists of 6-8 very small white or cream flowers with a pink to greenish tinge on a stem long. 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, white or cream-yellow and covered in long furry soft matted hairs or flattened silky hairs extending onto the lower part of the flower. The cream-white

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 long. Faintly scented flowers appear in leaf axils from June to August. Leaves are alternate, flat and linear, sometimes needle-shaped ending in a hard blunt point. Length may be variable from long and wide more or less the same length the entire leaf. Young leaves covered in soft matted hairs becoming smooth with age. Large, S-shaped fruit are smooth long and wide aging to rough and pitted on the surface ending with an incurving beak.

Taxonomy and naming

''Hakea candolleana'' was first formally described by Carl Meissner in 1848. ''Hakea candolleana'' was named in honour of the Swiss botanist, Augustin Pyramus de Candolle.

Distribution and habitat

''Hakea candolleana'' grows in heath or shrubland on sand, loam and clay and requires an open sunny aspect. Often found in low lying seasonally wet areas. It grows from the northern sand plains at the Murchison River to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and an outlying community at Tammin.

Conservation status

''Hakea candolleana'' is presently listed 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 ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18081051 candolleana Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1848 Taxa named by Carl Meissner