Hakea francisiana
Bottlebrush Hakea
Bottlebrush Hakea
Wikipedia links: ngiosperms > Eudicots > Proteales > Proteaceae > Hakea fancisiana
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Overview:
Hakea francisiana, commonly called the emu tree, grass-leaf hakea or bottlebrush hakea, is a shrub or tree of the genus Hakea native to Western Australia and South Australia
Common name: Bottlebrush Hakea
It is commonly called the emu tree, grass-leaf hakea or bottlebrush hakea
Conservation status: ...
Etymology:
The genus is named after Baron Christian Ludwig von Hake, an 18th-century German patron of botany
The specific epithet honours George William Francis, who was the first director of the Adelaide Botanic Garden, from 1857 to 1865
Flowers:
The flowers appear in large racemes that can be as large as 10 cm in length
The flowers occur in the leaf axils during winter and spring
The colour of the flowers is red or reddish purple but the type that was once known as H.coriacea is mostly cream flowered with a pink middle
Fruit:
After flowering woody seed pods form that are around 20 mm in length which hold two winged seeds
The pods will shed the seeds in particular conditions such as following a bushfire
Leaves:
The evergreen linear leaves are up to a length of 15 cm and a width of around 3 mm
It blooms from July to October and produces pink-red flowers
Stem & branches:
Roots:
Habit:
The non-lignotuberous shrub or tree with an open habit typically grows to a height of 3 to 8 m and has a v-shaped canopy and rough bark
It is very similar to Hakea bucculenta and Hakea multilineata
Habitat:
It is usually part of mallee woodland and shrubland communities
Distribution:
It is endemic to an area in the Wheatbelt, Mid West and Goldfields-Esperance regions of Western Australia from Geraldton in the west to Wiluna in the north to Lake Grace in the south and the Great Victoria Desert in the east
It extends into western parts of South Australia where it is found on sand-plains growing in sandy-clay, loam or clay soils often with gravel and quartz present
Additional notes:
Taxonomy
The species was first formally described by the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1858 as part of the work Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae
The only synonyms are Hakea grammatophylla, Hakea coriacea, Hakea multilineata, Hakea multilineata var. graminea and Hakea multilineata var. grammatophylla
Cultivation
It requires a full sun position and needs minimal watering. It is useful as an ornamental or as habitat for birds and bees
The plant is tolerant of drought, lime and moderate to light frost
It is sometimes grafted onto hardier rootstock
Sources of information: