''Hakea cyclocarpa'', commonly known as the ram's horn, wild bean or curved-fruit
hakea 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 ...
. A strongly scented species with large creamy-white flowers with a red style and interesting fruit. Native to an area along the west coast and south west regions of
Western Australia.
Description
''Hakea cyclocarpa'' is an upright spindly
lignotuberous shrub with smooth grey bark, growing to tall. Smaller branches and new leaves are covered with soft matted white or rusty coloured hairs. The
inflorescence consists of 10-18 large white or creamy-white flowers with a red-brown
styles long on an obscure stem. The overlapping
bracts are long. The
pedicels are long and densely covered with short, soft, matted white hairs, some flattened extending onto the lower part of the flower. The
perianth is long. It blooms from August to October. Leaves are up to long by wide. Leaves are narrowly egg-shaped widest in the middle, either rounded or a blunt point at the apex. The "S" shaped fruit are long and wide, smooth to slightly rough ending in a small pointed beak.
Taxonomy and naming
''Hakea cyclocarpa'' was collected by
James Drummond in 1839. The species was first formally described by English botanist John Lindley in 1840 and published in ''
A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony
"A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony", also known by its standard botanical abbreviation ''Sketch Veg. Swan R.'', is an 1839 article by John Lindley on the flora of the Swan River Colony. Nearly 300 new species were published in it, ...
''.
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 ...
(''cyclocarpa'') is derived from the
Ancient Greek words ''kyklos'' meaning "circle",
and ''karpos'' for "fruit",
referring to the almost circular form of the fruit.
Distribution and habitat
''Hakea cyclocarpa'' grows from the
Darling Range near
Perth and south to the
jarrah forests to
Augusta. An uncommon species growing on
granite,
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 ...
, loam, clay, sand and gravelly soils in heath and forests. An ornamental shrub that is drought and frost tolerant, requiring semi-shade and a well-drained site.
Conservation status
Presently considered "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 en ...
.
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References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q18080941
cyclocarpa
Eudicots of Western Australia
Plants described in 1840
Taxa named by John Lindley