Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Hakea salicifolia

Flowering stem and stem with seed cases (subsp. salicifolia). Photographer Don Wood, Bomaderry Creek Regional reserve near Nowra

Leafy stems with 'nuts'. Photographer Jackie Miles

Shrub. Photographer gavinlongmuir, Canberra, ACT

Common name

Willow-leaved Hakea

Family

Proteaceae

Where found

Forest and near streams. Coast and ranges mainly north of Ulladulla. Widely planted and doubtfully naturalised in the ACT.

subsp. angustifolia:  North of Wollongong and west to the lower Blue Mountains.

subsp. salicifolia: Coast and ranges mainly north of Ulladulla. Widely planted and naturalised in the ACT.

Notes

Shrub or tree to 8 m high. Bark fibrous. Young stems silky, becoming hairless. Leaves alternating up the stems, 5–15 cm long,  4–20 mm wide, flat, soft, lateral veins obscure, tips usually gradually tapering to a point, more rarely blunt, scarcely mucronate, surfaces moderately appressed-silky with white and rusty hairs when young, rapidly becoming hairless; young leaves darker. Flowers white, with 4  'petals' 3.5–5 mm long, free from each other when the flowers are fully open, hairless. Gynoecium 6–6.5 mm long. Unit clusters of 16–28 flowers, often several clusters close together. Flowers spring. 'Nuts' oval to almost round, 20–35 mm long, 13–30 mm wide, covered with hemispherical blunt-topped warts 1–2.5 mm high; beak slightly upturned; horns present, sometimes obscure. Seeds with one wing.

subsp. angustifolia:  Leaves 4–7 mm wide

subsp. salicifolia:  Leaves greater than 7 mm wide

PlantNET description of species and key to subspecies:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Hakea~salicifolia   (accessed 8 April 2021)