General Description:

Hakea is a genus of about 150 species, all of which are endemic to Australia. Hakeas can be found in many different environments; the tropics, mountains, the coast and desert areas. The most diversity in the genus occurs in the south of Western Australia.

Hakea constablei is a large shrub or small tree that may reach 6–7 metres high. The needle-like leaves are terete (rounded in cross-section), up to 12 mm long and 1.5 mm diameter. Despite their appearance, the leaves are not particularly prickly. The cream or white flowers are seen as loose clusters of up to 12 small flowers on the previous season’s stems. Flowering occurs in spring. The rounded fruits are about 50mm long and 40 mm wide and are covered with warty protuberances. Each fruit contains two winged seeds.

Although rare in the wild, H.constablei has been grown by enthusiasts for many years but is not often seen in nurseries. It is regarded as a hardy garden plant for temperate and sub-tropical areas, requiring a reasonably well drained soil, preferably in a sunny location. The flowers are attractive to honey-eating birds.

This species is easily grown from seed but this is not readily available. It can be grown from cuttings of firm, current season’s growth but the strike rate may be well below 100%.

* EPBC Act = Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999;
ROTAP = Rare or Threatened Australian Plants (Briggs and Leigh, 1988)
For further information refer the Australian Plants at Risk page