''Hakea decurrens'', commonly known as bushy needlewood, 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 ...

Description

''Hakea decurrens'' is a semi-prostrate to erect scrambling bush or small tree tall. Smaller branches have short densely matted silky hairs, occasionally some quickly becoming smooth. Leaves are needle-shaped, widely spreading horizontally are long and wide. The smooth leaves are grooved on the underside ending with a sharp point long. 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 1-6 white or pink flowers on a short white or rusty slightly hairy or densely matted hairy short stalk. The hairs extending onto a long

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 ...

. The smooth

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. 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 ...

is long. A profusion of flowers appear in leaf axils from May to September. The grey woody fruit are broadly egg-shaped long and wide covered in distinct warts ending in a prominent beak with two small horns.

Taxonomy and naming

''Hakea decurrens'' was first formally described in 1830 by Robert Brown in ''

Supplementum primum prodromi florae Novae Hollandiae ''Supplementum primum Prodromi florae Novae Hollandiae'' ("First supplement to the Prodromus of the flora of New Holland") is an 1830 supplement to Robert Brown's ''Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen''. It may be referred to ...

''. 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 ...

(''decurrens'') is a

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 ...

word, meaning "decurrent" or "prolonged below the point of insertion", referring to the insertion of the leaf on the stem. In 1996

William Robert Barker William (Bill) Robert Barker is an Honorary Research Associate of the State Herbarium of South Australia. He is a former Chief Botanist of the State Herbarium. With Robyn Mary Barker and Laurence Haegi he had a particular interest in ''Hakea'' in ...

described three subspecies of ''Hakea decurrens'' in the

Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens The Adelaide Botanic Garden is a public garden at the north-east corner of the Adelaide city centre, in the Adelaide Park Lands. It encompasses a fenced garden on North Terrace, Adelaide, North Terrace (between Lot Fourteen, the site of the old ...

and the names are accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...

The main differences are their fruit and hair characteristics on smaller branches. * ''Hakea decurrens'' subsp. ''decurrens'' on younger branches has flattened hairs, quickly becoming smooth and the fruit wide; * ''Hakea decurrens'' subsp. ''platytaenia'' has persistent raised hairs and fruit wide; * ''Hakea decurrens'' subsp. ''physocarpa'' has flattened hairs, quickly lost. Fruit wide.

Distribution and habitat

The species is native and widespread 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 ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Additionally it is naturalised in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Three subspecies are currently recognised: * ''H.decurrens'' subsp. ''decurrens'', occurs on the western slopes and plains of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

of New South Wales; * ''H.decurrens'' subsp. ''platytaenia'', occurs in exposed coastal heaths in southeastern New South Wales, eastern Victoria and the

Bass Strait Islands Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterway ...

. * ''H.decurrens'' subsp. ''physocarpa'', occurs in New South Wales, Victoria and the Bass Strait Islands. In Tasmania it is thought to be native to the north and naturalised in the south. It is also naturalised in the

Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and ...

in South Australia and Portugal.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5640383 decurrens Flora of New South Wales Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (state)