''Hakea chordophylla'', commonly known as bootlace oak, bootlace tree, corkwood, or bull oak, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of shrub or small tree 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 ...

found in central and

northern Australia The unofficial geographic term Northern Australia includes those parts of Queensland and Western Australia north of latitude 26° and all of the Northern Territory. Those local government areas of Western Australia and Queensland that lie p ...

. Bares very showy golden yellow, pale green or cream nectar rich flowers in winter. Hakea chordophylla form

Description

''Hakea chordophylla'' is a

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 ...

gnarled shrub or small tree 2 to 6 metres (7 to 20 ft) high with an open habit and slightly hanging branches. The trunk has thick corklike bark with many furrows and often contorted smaller branches. The long needle-like leaves are tough and thick from 22 to 42 cm (9–16 in) long and 1.6 to 2.9 mm wide. 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 from 35 to 70 individual small flowers in

racemes A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

long in various shades of yellow to green. The racemes are held on a smooth short stem long and usually bluish-green with a powdery film. On occasion with dense upright or sparse 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. The cream, green-yellow to bright yellow

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 and recurved in bud. The

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

may be straight or curved and long. Large smooth fruit are oblong to egg shaped, 2.6–4 cm (1–1.6 in) long and wide tapering to a long obscure to prominent curving beak 1/3–1/2 length of fruit. Flowers from June to August.

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described by Victorian Government Botanist

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

in 1857, from plant material collected at Sturt Creek in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. The description was published in ''

Hooker's Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany ''Hooker's Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany'' was a scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. Cont ...

''. Its

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 ...

(''chordophylla'') is derived from

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 ...

''chorde'' meaning "gut", "string of a musical instrument", "twine" or "rope" and ''phyllon'' meaning "leaf". It belongs to a group of related species known as the corkbarks, or ''lorea'' group, within the genus ''Hakea'', most of which are found across Australia's arid interior.

Distribution and habitat

''Hakea chordophylla'' ranges across the interior of central and northern Australia, from

western Queensland Western Queensland encompasses the three western regions in the Australian state of Queensland: * North West Queensland, often known as Gulf Country; * Central West Queensland; and * South West Queensland. History Karuwali (also known as ...

though to northern

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 ...

, to south of Karratha. A widespread species growing in spinifex grassland, woodland and scrubland on stony or red-brown sandy soil sometimes in stony

laterite Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

Use in horticulture

This hakea is a slow growing but attractive plant in cultivation, its leaves and bark a feature. Full sun and good drainage are helpful.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5640370 chordophylla Flora of Queensland Flora of Western Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Plants described in 1857 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller