''Hakea constablei'' is a shrub in 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 ...

family native to eastern Australia. A bushy shrub or small tree with a profusion of white or cream flowers in spring.

Description

''Hakea constablei'' is a compact rounded shrub to small tree growing to high. The needle-shaped bright green pointed leaves are long and wide. New growth is hairy, branches are arching hanging loosely and despite the pointed leaves not particularly prickly. The bright green leaves are needle-shaped and about long. It produces cream-white flowers from September to November on the previous seasons stems. Each

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 ...

is composed of 6 to 12 flowers with a 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 ...

that is long. The style about long with a cone shaped stigma. The large rounded fruit are long and wide. The dark grey surface is covered with warty protuberances, ending with horns long. The dark brown seed are long with a wing down one side.

Taxonomy and naming

''Hakea constablei'' was initially found in 1899 but the specimen was inadvertently stored with another Hakea. It was overlooked until 1950 when E.F. Constable collected the species near the Blue Mountains and brought it to the attention of botanists at the Sydney Herbarium. The species was first formally described by the botanist

Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson FAA, (26 June 1925 – 1 August 1997) known as Lawrie Johnson, was an Australian taxonomic botanist. He worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, for the whole of his professional career, as a botanist (1948 ...

in 1962 and published in ''Contributions from the New South Wales National Herbarium''. 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 ...

honours Ernie Constable a former seed and plant collector for the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. He collected mostly in New South Wales, including the type specimen for the species.

Distribution and habitat

''Hakea constablei'' is

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 an area in the Blue Mountains and

Wollondilly Wollondilly Shire is a periurban local government area adjacent to the south-western fringe of Sydney, parts of which fall into the Macarthur, Blue Mountains and Central Tablelands regions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wollondil ...

catchment in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

where it is found among elevated

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

outcrops as part of sclerophyll forest communities.

Conservation status

''Hakea constablei'' is considered rare, ROTAP conservation code 2RCa, Briggs, Leigh and Hartley 1996.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18079721 constablei Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1962