Hakea lehmanniana

{{Short description|Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to Western Australia}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Hakea lehmanniana foliage and flowers.jpg

| image_caption = Hakea lehmanniana (cultivated)

| status = VU

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{Cite web |last=Haegi |first=L. |last2=Griffith |first2=S. |last3=Keighery |first3=G. |date=19 November 2024 |title=Hakea lehmanniana |url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/117491361/121862185 |access-date=19 November 2024 |website=IUCN Red List}}

| genus = Hakea

| species = lehmanniana

| authority = Meisn.{{cite web |title=Hakea lehmanniana |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/84985 |website=Australian Plant Census |access-date=23 December 2019}}

| range_map = Hakea lehmannianaDistMap71.png

| range_map_caption = Occurrence data from AVH

}}

Hakea lehmanniana, commonly known as the blue hakea,{{FloraBase|name=Hakea lehmanniana|id=2172}} is a shrub in the family Proteaceae. It has needle-shaped prickly leaves and blue flowers during winter months. It is endemic to an area in the southern Wheatbelt and Great Southern regions of Western Australia.

Description

Hakea lehmanniana is a prickly, dense shrub typically growing to a height of {{convert|0.6|to|1.8|m|ft|0}} and does not form a lignotuber. It blooms from June to August and produces attractive purple-blue fading to blue or white flowers in dense clusters in upper leaf axils. The leaves are glabrous, terete, {{convert|2-7|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long by {{convert|1-2|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} thick and ending in a sharp point at the apex. The fruit are 3 dimensional, {{convert|2-3|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long by {{convert|1.5-2|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide with a very rough prickly surface a unique feature which identifies this species.{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=J A |title=Hakeas of Western Australia: A Field and Identification Guide |publisher=J A Young |isbn=0-9585778-2-X}}{{cite book |last1=Holliday |first1=Ivan |title=Hakeas: A Field and Garden Guide |publisher=Reed New Holland |isbn=1-877069-14-0}}

Distribution and habitat

Blue hakea grows from Pingelly ranging south to Albany and east to Ravensthorpe. Grows in heath or shrubland on gravelly-loam, sand or sand over laterite in sun or semi-shade. An adaptable species frost and drought tolerant and may be used as a ground cover and wildlife habitat.

Taxonomy and naming

Hakea lehmanniana was first formally described in 1845 by Swiss botanist Carl Meisner and the description was published in Plantae Preissianae.{{cite web |title=Plantae Preissianae |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/9227#page/562/mode/1up |website=Biodiversity Heritage Library |access-date=25 December 2019}}{{cite web |title=Hakea lehmanniana |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/rest/instance/apni/503487 |website=Australian Plant Name Index |access-date=25 December 2019}} The species was named in honour of the German botanist, Johann Georg Christian Lehmann.

Conservation status

Hakea lehmanniana is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government.

References