Hakea victoria

Location & distribution maps

Plant  information

Common name:         Royal Hakea 

• Also, lantern hakea

• The Noongar name for the plant is Tallyongut

Conservation status: ...

Etymology:   

• The genus is named after Baron Christian Ludwig von Hake, an 18th-century German patron of botany

• The specific epithet is named in honour of Queen Victoria by the naturalist John Gilbert

Flowers:                  

• The inflorescence is a cluster of 26-42 small cream-white, red or pink flowers in leaf axils that are almost obscured by the leaf shape

• The smooth pedicel is 6–11 mm long, pistil 33–37 mm long and the perianth cream coloured

• Flowering occurs from June to October

Fruit:                         

• The woody fruits are about 25 mm long and between 15 and 20 mm wide

Leaves:         

• The leaves are arranged alternately, with distinct veins on the upper and under side, 4–11.5 cm long and 4–13 mm wide

• The leaves are rough and leathery, the margin wavy with prickly teeth and ending with a sharp point

• The lower leaves are green and narrow, the upper leaves are broad, concave, more or less circular, yellow at the base and shading to green at the apex

Stem & branches: 

• Has few branches 

Roots:         

• It does not form a lignotuber

Habit:        

• An erect slender growth habit growing to 1–3 m high and 1 m  wide 

Habitat:   

Distribution:                  

• Endemic to Western Australia 

• It grows in quartzitic or lateritic sand mostly in rocky locations in the coastal region between Albany and Esperance, including the Fitzgerald River National Park

Additional notes:     

• It is noted for its ornamental foliage

• Taxonomy 

  • The type specimen of Hakea victoria was collected near West Mount Barren (located in what is now Fitzgerald River National Park) by botanist James Drummond 

  • It was first described by him in 1847 in The Inquirer newspaper

• Cultivation

  • The species requires a well-drained, sunny situation and will tolerate moderate frost

  • Plants are not suited to humid conditions; even if they survive, foliage colour will be poor

  • Propagation is easy by seed, but quite difficult from cutting

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakea_victoria (May 2024)