''Hakea elliptica'', commonly known as the oval-leaf hakea, is a shrub in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 ...

and 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 ...

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 ...

. A fast growing adaptable species with ornamental wavy leaves, golden bronze new growth and an abundance of showy white flowers. A good wildlife habitat due to its dense form with foliage to ground level.

Description

''Hakea elliptica'' is a dense, rounded, erect non-

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 ...

shrub or small tree typically grows to a height of . The smaller branches are covered with densely matted reddish brown hairs near flowering. The dark green leaves are alternately arranged with an elliptic to broadly elliptic shape ending in a sharp point. The leaves are flat, long and wide. The leaf blade is wavy and venation is conspicuous with several longitudinal veins. New growth is an attractive bronze-brown colour. The solitary

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 of 35–40 strongly scented cream-white flowers in clusters in the leaf axils. Each flower is on a smooth stalk long. 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 smooth and 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 ...

cream-white and about long. The style is long, thin and long. Flowering occurs from November to February. The egg-shaped fruit are long and wide tapering to a short upturned beak. The fruit surface is smooth but uneven. The ovate seeds are blackish brown.

Taxonomy and naming

''Hakea elliptica'' was initially described as ''Conchium ellipticum'' in 1807 by

James Edward Smith James Edward Smith may refer to: * James Edward Smith (botanist), English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society * James Edward Smith (murderer), American murderer * James Edward Smith (politician), Canadian businessman and mayor of Toronto * ...

in the work ''Conchium. The Cyclopaed'', Smith then revised the name the following year as ''Conchium elliptica'' in ''A botanical sketch of the genus Conchium'' and published in ''Transactions of the Linnean Society of London''. Robert Brown reclassified the species in 1810 to the genus ''Hakea'' and was published in '' Transactions of the Linnean Society of London''. The type specimen was collected from King George Sound in 1803 by A.Maxwell. 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 ...

(''elliptica'') refers to the shape of the leaves.

Distribution and habitat

It is found in an area along the south coast in the Great Southern region of

between

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and just east of Albany where it grows on sandy soils over

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

. It is often found amongst coastal heath communities.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9285029 elliptica Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1810