Hakea lissosperma
Mountain Needlewood
Mountain Needlewood
Wikipedia links: ngiosperms > Eudicots > Proteales > Proteaceae > Hakea lissosperma
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Common name: Mountain Needlewood
Also, needle bush
Conservation status: ...
Etymology:
The genus is named after Baron Christian Ludwig von Hake, an 18th-century German patron of botany
The specific epithet (lissosperma) is derived from the Ancient Greek words lissos meaning "smooth" or "polished"[9]: 722 and sperma meaning "seed"
Flowers
Flowers commonly form in late spring and early summer between October and December in alpine areas, earlier at lower altitudes
The flowers are white or cream in colour and clustered in leaf axils on stalks usually 4 to 6 mm long
The perianth is usually glabrous and 5 to 6 mm in length
Fruit:
The fruit that forms after flowering commonly becomes hard and brown or grey-brown when it is mature usually in the second year after flowering
Immature fruit will not ripen off the plant and fruit is usually held on the plant for several years
Seed is usually not occupying whole valve face
Each seed is usually 17 to 23 mm long and 6.5 to 10.5 mm wide
The seeds are wrinkled with a wing down one side only and dark blackish-brown in colour
Leaves:
The flat evergreen leaves are terete, usually 6 to 10 cm in length and 1.5 to 2 mm wide
The leaf follicles are usually 20 to 30 mm long and 15 to 20 mm wide while the mature ones are about 2.3 to 2.7 cm and 1.7 to 2 cm wide
They are coarsely wrinkled or blistered
Stem & branches:
It is a low woody plant with several main stout branches
Roots:
Habit:
A spreading shrub or small tree commonly with spiny leaves and dense clusters of white flowers, growing approximately from 2 to 6 m in height
Habitat:
The species is commonly found in wet Eucalypt forest and it is widespread especially on mountains to 1,200 m and to sea level in areas of high rainfall
The tree is frost hardy and drought tolerant to cope with its habitat
It is also found in dry forest habitat at altitudes of 700 m in parts of Victoria
It prefers a moist and shady site and grows well in fertile, loam soils but is phosphorus intolerant
Distribution:
Native to parts of south eastern Australia
It is found in Tasmania, Victoria, NSW and the ACT
In Tasmania the species is commonly found in the following areas: Break O'Day, Central Highlands, Circular Head, Derwent Valley, Dorset, Flinders Island, Glamorgan-Spring Bay, Hobart, Huon Valley, Kentish, Kingborough, Launceston, Meander Valley, Northern Midlands, Southern Midlands, Tasman, Waratah-Wynyard, West Coast
In Victoria it is found in the east parts including; East Gippsland, Fall Highlands, Victorian Alps and Snowy Mountains
In NSW it is found only in alpine areas in the south east surrounding the ACT
Additional notes:
Taxonomy
Hakea lissosperma was first formally described by Robert Brown in 1810 as part of the work On the natural order of plants called Proteaceae published in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London
The type specimen was collected in Tasmania on mountains between the Derwent and "Heron" rivers.
Cultivation
This tree should only be planted in a sheltered location
Seeds can be collected any time of year but only from older fruit which is usually grey-brown in colour
The seeds must then be leached and the dry fruit will usually open in 2–3 weeks or place in an oven 80 to 100 °C for 30 minutes with the door partially open
Besides leaching stratification can also be used
Once planted the germination time is approximately 6 months
The species is a favourite of birds due to the dense clusters of flowers and pungent rigid needle-shaped leaves which can be a shelter against predators
It is also resistant to wildlife browsing due to its unpalatability
Sources of information: