''Hakea victoria'', commonly known as royal hakea and lantern hakea, is a shrub

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 ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

and noted for its ornamental foliage. The

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...

name for the plant is Tallyongut.

Description

''Hakea victoria'' has an erect slender growth habit growing to high and wide with few branches and does not form a

lignotuber A lignotuber is a woody swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire. Other woody plants may develop basal burls as a similar survival strategy, often as a respons ...

. The leaves are arranged alternately, with distinct veins on the upper and under side, long and wide. The leaves are rough and leathery, the margin wavy with prickly teeth and ending with a sharp point. The lower leaves are green and narrow, the upper leaves are broad, concave, more or less circular, yellow at the base and shading to green at the apex. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a cluster of 26-42 small cream-white, red or pink flowers in leaf axils that are almost obscured by the leaf shape. The smooth

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

is long,

pistil Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl (botany), whorl of a flower; it consists ...

long and the

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower. It is a structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepal ...

cream coloured. Flowering occurs from June to October. The woody fruits are about long and between wide, and contain two winged seeds. The pods are

serotinous Serotiny in botany simply means 'following' or 'later'. In the case of serotinous flowers, it means flowers which grow following the growth of leaves, or even more simply, flowering later in the season than is customary with allied species. Havi ...

, and will typically retain their seeds until triggered by environmental factors, such as a bushfire.

Taxonomy and naming

The

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

specimen of ''Hakea victoria'' was collected near

West Mount Barren West Mount Barren is part of the Fitzgerald River National Park located between Bremer Bay and Hopetoun on the south coast of Western Australia. The coordinates of the summit of West Mount Barren are . West Mount Barren, along with East Mount B ...

(located in what is now

Fitzgerald River National Park Fitzgerald River National Park is a national park in the Shire of Ravensthorpe, Shires of Ravensthorpe and the Shire of Jerramungup in Western Australia, southeast of Perth. The park is recognised on National Heritage List (Australia), Austral ...

) by botanist James Drummond and was first described by him in 1847 in ''The Inquirer'' newspaper. 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 ...

is named in honour of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

by the naturalist John Gilbert.

Distribution and habitat

Royal hakea grows in

quartzitic Quartzite is a hard, non-Foliation (geology), foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usuall ...

lateritic Laterite is a soil type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by intensive and prolo ...

sand mostly in rocky locations in the coastal region between Albany and Esperance, including the

Use in horticulture

The species requires a well-drained, sunny situation and will tolerate moderate frost. Plants are not suited to humid conditions; even if they survive, foliage colour will be poor. Propagation is easy by seed, but quite difficult from cuttings.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3125828

victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1847 Taxa named by James Drummond (botanist)