''Hakea verrucosa'' is a flowering plant in the family Proteaceae that 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 else ...

to south-west Western Australia. It has large white, deep pink or red pendulous flowers with stiff needle-shaped leaves.

Description

''Hakea verrucosa'' is a spreading prickly shrub growing to high and does not form a

lignotuber 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 ...

. The branchlets are covered mostly in densely matted, short, rusty hairs. The green

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 ...

leaves are about long and wide, ending in a sharp point long. The leaves are smooth and have a tendency to point in one direction from the branchlet. The pendant

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

consists of 7-14 white, pink to red flowers in a showy profusion in axillary clusters, or on old wood. Each inflorescence is held on a stalk about 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 ...

long, 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 ...

long, initially a cream-white and aging to pink and the pistil long. Flowering occurs between May and August and the fruit are obliquely egg-shaped long and wide with blister-like protuberances, tapering to two horns long.

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described in 1865 by Victorian Government Botanist Ferdinand von Mueller and published in the fifth volume of his '' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae''. Named from the Latin ''verrucosus'' - warty, referring to the seed surface.

Distribution and habitat

''Hakea verrucosa'' grows in heath and low woodland on sandy-loam, near creeks, clay and gravel ranging from Jerramungup along the coast to Esperance.

Uses in horticulture

A frost-tolerant species that requires a well-drained site. Due to its dense prickly growth habit a good wildlife habitat and low windbreak.

Conservation status

''Hakea verrucosa'' is classified as "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 e ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5640421

verrucosa ''Verrucosa'' is a genus of Araneidae, orb-weaver spiders first described by Henry Christopher McCook, Henry McCook in 1888. It contains almost fifty described species, most of which live in South America. The only species in the United States is ...

Eudicots of Western Australia Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Plants described in 1865