''Acacia hakeoides'', known colloquially as hakea wattle, hakea-leaved wattle or western black wattle, is a species of flowering plant

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to southern Australia. It is a bushy shrub or tree with lance-shaped to linear

phyllode Phyllodes are modified petiole (botany), petioles or leaf stems, which are leaf-like in appearance and function. In some plants, these become flattened and widened, while the leaf itself becomes reduced or vanishes altogether. Thus the phyllode co ...

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s of bright golden-yellow flowers and more or less leathery to leathery to hard and brittle pods. It can be found growing in sandy soils in

semiarid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

and ''Eucalyptus'' woodland in the region.

Description

''Acacia hakeoides'' is a bushy shrub or small tree that typically grows to a height of and has

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

branchlets. Its phyllodes are narrowly egg-shaped to lance-shaped, with the narrower end towards the base, mostly long and wide with one or two

glands A gland is a Cell (biology), cell or an Organ (biology), organ in an animal's body that produces and secretes different substances that the organism needs, either into the bloodstream or into a body cavity or outer surface. A gland may also funct ...

on the edges and a prominent midvein. The flowers are bright golden-yellow and borne in a raceme long at the base of phyllodes, with six to twelve clusters of 20 to 30 flowers, in diameter. Flowering usually occurs from July to November, and the fruit is a straight or twisted pod long and wide. The seeds are dull black, long, with a club-shaped

aril An aril (), also called arillus, is a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed. An arillode, or false aril, is sometimes distinguished: whereas an aril grows from the attachment point of the seed to the ova ...

Taxonomy

''Acacia hakeoides'' was first formally describe in 1842 by

George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

in the ''London Journal of Botany'' from an unpublished description by Allan Cunningham. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''hakeiodes'') means "''Hakea''-like".

Distribution and habitat

Hakea wattle is widespread and common in open scrub, ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

'' woodland or mallee in western New South Wales, north-western Victoria, southern coastal areas of South Australia including the

Nullarbor The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of 'no' and 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its no ...

region, and the Coolgardie,

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria ** Hampton railway station, Melbour ...

, Mallee and Nullarbor bioregions of southern Western Australia.

Uses

The seed of "Acacia hakeoides" is edible and it has been suggested that this seed is suitable for culinary use as a flavouring agent, as a stable carbohydrate or as a coffee substitute, among others. In light of this fact, the species has been listed by one study as a medium priority species of interest for domestication for seed production purposes.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9565158 hakeoides Fabales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Flora of Victoria (state) Acacias of Western Australia Taxa named by George Bentham Plants described in 1842