Australian Native Plants

  Hakea teretifolia (Dagger Hakea)


Hakea teretifolia photo
Hakea teretifolia - Botany Bay National Park, Kurnell

Photograph by Cas Liber. Some rights reserved.    (view image details)




DAGGER HAKEA FACTS

distribution map showing range of Hakea teretifolia in Australia

Map is from The Atlas of Living Australia web site, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License


Common Name
Dagger Hakea

Other Names
H.pugioniformis

Description
The Dagger Hakea is a prickly shrub. It is fairly easily grown but is rarely cultivated. It has thick fleshy leaves with spikes at the tips, arranged in spirals along the plant stem. Clusters of small white flowers are produced mainly in summer and intermittently in winter. The inflorescences are produced on branches and each has four to eight small flowers. The fruit are sharp pointed woody seed pods. The plant gets its common name from the dagger shaped seed pods.

Habitat
heathland with sandstone soil. Often seen with Heath Banksia (Banksia ericifolia) and Scrub She-oak (Allocasuarina distyla).

Distribution
Eastern Australia from northern New South Wales down through Victoria and also Tasmania. There are two subspecies with H. teretifolia teretifolia found from northern New South Wales to south of Sydney, while H. teretifolia hirsuta is found from south of Sydney, Victoria and Tasmania.

Growth Characteristics
Height: 1m - 2.5m
Spread: 0.5m - 2.5m

Wildlife Interest
attracts honeyeaters. Prickly foliage provides a refuge for small birds such as wrens and honeyeaters.

Classification
Class:Magnoliopsida
Order:Proteales
Family:Proteaceae
Genus:Hakea
Species:teretifolia
Common Name:Dagger Hakea


Relatives in same Genus
  Hakea archaeoides
  Hakea bakeriana
  Hakea bucculenta
  Hakea decurrens
  Hakea drupacea
  Hakea myrtoides
  Hakea oleifolia
  Hakea petiolaris
  Hakea plurinervia
  Hakea scoparia