''Hakea conchifolia'', commonly known as the shell-leaved hakea is a shrub in the family Proteaceae native to an area in the west coast of the Wheatbelt region 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 ...

. An attractive small species with unusual rigid leaves that encircle the flowers.

Description

''Hakea conchifolia'' is a small to dwarf lignotuberous shrub growing to a height of with erect smaller branches. The branch surface varies they may be covered with red-brown long soft hairs, coarse rough longish hairs or densely covered in short soft matted hairs fading at flowering. The shell like rigid leaves are long and wide when opened, growing alternately on branches. Grey-green leaves are hairless, widest near the stem divided both sides of a central stalk in a feather-like appearance. Most leaves are broadly egg-shaped or heart-shaped with sharply scalloped edges, doubled over encircling the flowers. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

appears in the leaf axil and consists of 15–18 flowers. 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 and smooth. 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 creamy white rarely pale pink and 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 ...

long. The egg-shaped fruit are long and wide tapering to a short beak. Creamy-white rarely pink flowers appear in winter from June to August.

Taxonomy and naming

''Hakea conchifolia'' was first formally described by the botanist William Jackson Hooker in 1842 as part of the work ''

Icones Plantarum ''Icones Plantarum'' is an extensive series of published volumes of botanical illustration, initiated by Sir William Jackson Hooker. The Latin name of the work means "Illustrations of Plants". The illustrations are drawn from herbarium specimens o ...

''. The only synonyms are ''Hakea cucullata'' and ''Hakea cucullata'' var. ''conchifolia''. The specific epithet (''conchifolia'') 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 ''concha'' meaning "snail" or "shell" and ''folium'' meaning "leaf" referring to the resemblance of the leaves to sea shells.

Distribution and habitat

Shell-leaved hakea grows in the northern sand plains of

Irwin Irwin may refer to: Places ;United States * Irwin, California * Irwin, Idaho * Irwin, Illinois * Irwin, Iowa * Irwin, Nebraska * Irwin, Ohio * Irwin, Pennsylvania * Irwin, South Carolina * Irwin County, Georgia * Irwin Township, Venango County ...

south to the foothills of the Darling Ranges of

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 i ...

. ''Hakea conchifolia'' grows in sand, loam and gravelly soils in heathland or low woodland in areas of good drainage.

Conservation status

''Hakea conchifolia'' is classified as "not threatened" by the 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=Q18079451 conchifolia Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1842 Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker