''Hakea lissocarpha'', commonly known as honey bush or the duck and drake bush, is a shrub of the genus ''

Hakea ''Hakea'' ( ) is a genus of about 150 species of plants in the Family ''Proteaceae'', endemic to Australia. They are shrubs or small trees with leaves that are sometimes flat, otherwise circular in cross section in which case they are sometimes d ...

'' native to a large area in the

Mid West The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

, Wheatbelt, Peel,

South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

, Great Southern and Goldfields-Esperance regions 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 ...

Description

The pungent lignotuberous, dense, spreading shrub typically grows to a height of with smooth to roughish grey bark. It blooms from May to September and produces vert sweetly scented white-cream/yellow/pink flowers in

racemes A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

in the leaf axils and upper branchlets. The leaves are short,

terete Terete is a term in botany used to describe a cross section that is circular, or like a distorted circle, with a single surface wrapping around it.Lichen Vocabulary, Lichens of North America Information, Sylvia and Stephen Sharnoff/ref> This is u ...

and sharply pointed, divided into many segments. The ovoid fruit are smooth to roughish and warty, long by tapering to two short beaks.

Taxonomy and naming

Hakea lissocarpha was first formally described in 1830 by Robert Brown. It is named from the Greek ''lissos'' - smooth and ''carphos'' - dry grass, referring to the bracts surrounding the flower bud.

Distribution and habitat

A variable and common species, widespread from coast of Northampton to

Israelite Bay Israelite Bay is a bay and locality on the south coast of Western Australia. Situated in the Shire of Esperance local government area, it lies east of Esperance and the Cape Arid National Park, within the Nuytsland Nature Reserve and the Grea ...

. Grows in heath or woodland on sand, loam,

lateritic 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 ...

gravel or limestone. Requires a sunny or semi-shaded aspect with good drainage. May be used for hedging and wildlife habit and is drought and frost tolerant.

Conservation status

Hakea lissocarpha is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18079776 lissocarpha Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1830 Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)