Hakea pritzelii facts for kids

Hakea pritzelii is a special kind of shrub that belongs to the Hakea plant family. It grows naturally in a few small areas in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.

What Does Hakea pritzelii Look Like?

This shrub usually grows straight up and spreads out, reaching about 1 to 2.5 meters (3 to 8 feet) tall. It has many branches, making it a dense plant.

Flowers and Leaves

From July to August, Hakea pritzelii produces beautiful, sweet-smelling flowers. These flowers are red-purple and have a light green "style," which is part of the flower. They grow in small groups where the leaves meet the stem, or sometimes along older parts of the stems.

The leaves of this plant are thick and stiff. They are shaped like an egg, wider at the top, and they wrap around the stem. Each leaf has a very sharp point at the end. The leaves are pale green and can be smooth or have a few small, very sharp, prickly teeth. These teeth can be in groups of 3, 5, or 9.

Fruit

After the flowers, the plant grows interesting fruits. These fruits are about 20 millimeters (0.8 inches) long and 9 to 10 millimeters (0.35 to 0.4 inches) wide. They have a rough, cork-like surface with small spines on the outside.

How Hakea pritzelii Got Its Name

The plant Hakea pritzelii was officially described for the first time in 1904 by a scientist named Ludwig Diels. He named it after another German botanist, Ernst Georg Pritzel. Ernst Georg Pritzel traveled with Ludwig Diels to Western Australia. Together, they collected many different plant samples.

Where Hakea pritzelii Grows

You can find Hakea pritzelii growing in areas from Cranbrook and the Stirling Range National Park all the way to Gnowangerup in Western Australia. It likes to grow in sandy areas, often in places that are low-lying and sometimes wet during certain seasons. This plant is great for local wildlife because its dense, prickly branches provide a safe home for many small animals.

Is Hakea pritzelii Endangered?

Even though Hakea pritzelii only grows in a few specific places, the Western Australian Government's Department of Parks and Wildlife considers it "not threatened." This means they believe there are enough of these plants in the wild, and they are not currently at risk of disappearing.