Hakea pedunculata facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hakea pedunculata |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Hakea
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| Species: |
pedunculata
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| Occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium | |
Hakea pedunculata is a type of shrub or small tree. It belongs to the Hakea family, which has about 150 different kinds of plants. All Hakea plants grow only in Australia. You can find Hakea pedunculata in the Far North part of Queensland and on nearby islands.
Most Hakea plants release their seeds when something special happens in nature. Often, this is a bushfire. Other Hakea plants might need heavy rains to help their seeds grow.
Contents
What Does Hakea pedunculata Look Like?
This shrub or small tree often has a twisted, gnarled shape. It usually grows to be about 1 to 5 meters (3 to 16 feet) tall. It has dark bark with small cracks.
Its leaves are flat and shaped like an egg, but can be narrow or wide. They grow to be about 5 to 10 centimeters (2 to 4 inches) long. They are also about 8 to 20 millimeters (0.3 to 0.8 inches) wide.
Flowers and Fruit
About forty cream-white flowers grow together on a stalk. This stalk is about 6.5 to 25 millimeters (0.25 to 1 inch) long. Each flower sits on a slightly rough stem called a pedicel. These pedicels are about 2 to 10 millimeters (0.08 to 0.4 inches) long and are covered with soft white hairs.
The fruit of Hakea pedunculata is woody and shaped like an egg, but a bit slanted. It tapers, or gets narrower, at both ends. The fruit is about 2 to 3 centimeters (0.8 to 1.2 inches) long and 1 to 1.2 centimeters (0.4 to 0.5 inches) wide. It ends in a short, curved beak about 2 to 3 millimeters (0.08 to 0.12 inches) long.
Hakea pedunculata mostly flowers from April to August. Sometimes, it also flowers in February. When the fruit ripens, it splits open into two parts. This shows a darker and a lighter area inside. Hakea plants with a larger pale area tend to hold onto their seeds for longer. Hakea pedunculata is special because of its woody fruit and that it grows in swampy places.
Where Does Hakea pedunculata Grow?
Hakea pedunculata grows north of Cooktown. This area is on the Cape York Peninsula, a large peninsula in far North Queensland. It also grows on islands nearby.
You can often find this plant on the edges of mangrove forests. It also grows in semi-swampy areas. These are often low shrublands where Melaleuca trees are common.
How Was Hakea pedunculata Named?
The plant was first officially described in 1883 by a scientist named Ferdinand von Mueller. He studied a sample collected near the Endeavour River. This sample was found by a druggist named W. Anthony Persieh.
The second part of the plant's name, pedunculata, comes from a Latin word. Pedunculus means "a small, slender stalk." This refers to the plant's peduncle, which is the stalk that holds the flowers. This stalk is much longer than in other Hakea species.
Is Hakea pedunculata Protected?
The Department of Environment and Science in Queensland considers Hakea pedunculata to be of "least concern." This means it is not currently at risk of disappearing.
