Dagger hakea

Appearance

''Hakea teretifolia'' is a prickly shrub that can reach 3 m in height. It has spirally arranged, thick, tough, succulent spike-tipped leaves. Flowering occurs in summer though some may be seen in winter. The small white inflorescences occur on branches and consist of 4-8 individual small flowers. These are followed by sharp pointed seed pods from where the plant gets its common name.

Naming

Richard Salisbury initially described the species in his book ''Prodromus stirpium in horto ad Chapel Allerton vigentium'' in 1796 and gave it the name ''Banksia teretifolia''. The specific epithet is from the Latin ''teretifolium'', meaning "with terete leaves".

In 1797, Heinrich Schrader and Johann Christoph Wendland described the genus ''Hakea'' and the type species ''Hakea glabra'' in their book ''Sertum Hannoveranum''.

In 1916, James Britten changed the name of Salisbury's ''Banksia teretifolia'' to ''Hakea teretifolia'' in the ''Journal of Botany, British and Foreign''. Britten considered Schrader's ''Hakea glabra'', Antonio José Cavanilles' ''Hakea pugioniformis'' and Joseph Gaertner's ''Conchium teretifolium'' to be synonyms. The Australian Plant Census lists ''H. glabra'', ''H. pugioniformis'' and ''C. teretifolium'' as synonyms of ''H. teretifolia'' subsp. ''teretifolia''. ''Hakea teretifolia'' was classified in ''Hakea'' sect. ''Hakea'' series ''Pubiflorae'' by George Bentham in his ''Flora Australiensis'', but was reclassified on its own in the ''Teretifolia'' group in the 1999 Flora of Australia treatment.

In 1990, Robyn Mary Barker described two subspecies of ''H. teretifolia'' in the ''Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens'', and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:
⤷  ''H. teretifolia'' Britten subsp. ''teretifolia'';
⤷  ''H. teretifolia'' subsp. ''hirsuta'' R.M.Barker that has more densely hairy perianths and pedicels. It is an upright, spreading shrub 1–4 m high. Its branchlets are densely covered with short, soft, matted hairs, smooth at flowering. It has rigid, straight, needle-shaped leaves 0.5–7.7 cm long, 0.8–1.7 mm wide and cream-white flowers from November to February.

Distribution

Subspecies ''teretifolia'' ranges from Coffs Harbour south through the Sydney region to the Budawang Range in New South Wales.

Subspecies ''hirsuta'' occurs further south from the Sydney region through to Tasmania with a separate population in the Grampians in western Victoria. It is found on sandstone soil-based heathland, and can form dense thickets with the heath banksia and scrub she-oak . It grows in moist to wet locations in heath and woodlands east of Melbourne and a disjunct population in the Grampians.

Habitat

Subspecies ''teretifolia'' ranges from Coffs Harbour south through the Sydney region to the Budawang Range in New South Wales.

Subspecies ''hirsuta'' occurs further south from the Sydney region through to Tasmania with a separate population in the Grampians in western Victoria. It is found on sandstone soil-based heathland, and can form dense thickets with the heath banksia and scrub she-oak . It grows in moist to wet locations in heath and woodlands east of Melbourne and a disjunct population in the Grampians.

Cultural

''Hakea teretifolia'' is rarely cultivated but is an easy plant to grow provided it has a sunny aspect. Unlike many other proteaceae it can be tolerant of poor drainage. Its extremely prickly foliage can make a good deterrent. When planted in clumps, this species provides an excellent shelter for small birds such as superb fairywrens and the smaller sized honeyeaters. It can also prove a prickly deterrent for burglars.