''Hakea obtusa'' 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 ...

'' 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 ...

to an area along the south coast in the 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 ...

. It has white and pink fragrant flowers in autumn and spring.

Description

''Hakea obtusa'' is an open, rounded, stiff shrub typically growing to a height of and does not form a lignotuber. It blooms profusely from May to September and produces sweetly scented white and pink flowers with long creamy white styles which appear at the

nodes In general, a node is a localized swelling (a "knot") or a point of intersection (a Vertex (graph theory), vertex). Node may refer to: In mathematics *Vertex (graph theory), a vertex in a mathematical graph *Vertex (geometry), a point where two ...

on bare wood. The leaves are oblong- elliptic long by wide with 3 distinctive longitudinal veins ending in a blunt point. The fruit are rough

ovoid An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or ...

ending in a short sharp beak.

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described by Carl Meisner in 1856. Named from the Latin ''obtusus'' - blunt, referring to the shape of the leaf.

Distribution and habitat

''Hakea obtusa'' is confined to

Ravensthorpe Ravensthorpe may refer to any of the following places. England *Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury in West Yorkshire **Ravensthorpe railway station, Dewsbury *Ravensthorpe, Northamptonshire *Ravensthorpe, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire *Ravensthorpe, an histor ...

and the Fitzgerald River National Park. Grows in shrubland and low woodland on loamy-clay, gravel and ironstone. A frost tolerant species that requires good drainage and a sunny aspect.

Conservation status

''Hakea obtusa'' is classified "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18083805 obtusa Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1856