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Hakea sericea

Common name:	Silky Hakea	Family:	Proteaceae
Author:	Schrad.&J.C.Wendl.	Botanical references:	11, 50, 200
Synonyms:	Hakea tenuifolia (Dum.Cours.), Hakea acicularis ((Sm. ex Vent.)Knight.), Conchium aciculare (Sm. ex Vent.), Banksia tenuifolia (Salisb. 1796)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Australia - New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria. Locally naturalized in parts of S.W. Europe.
Habitat:	Dry sclerophyll forests and heaths on sandstone soils and shales[265].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	sericea = silky;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Proteales. Protea family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 3m. It is hardy to zone 9. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Gum; Hedge; Soil reclamation.

A gum, somewhat similar to gum tragacanth (which is obtained from various Astragalus spp), is obtained from the stems[64, 154].
Shrubs are planted for the reclamation of arid land in Spain and Portugal[50].
Plants are used for screening purposes in Australia[157].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in a hot dry position, requiring a lime-free soil[182]. Requires plenty of moisture in the growing season but a very well-drained soil[1]. Wind tolerant[166].
This species is not very hardy in Britain, but it succeeds outdoors in S.W. England[11]. Plants are hardy to about -7°c in Australian gardens but this cannot be translated directly to British gardens due to our cooler summers and longer, colder wetter winters. They grow well in a Mediterranean climate, with cool wet winters and hot dry summers[200].
Some forms of this species are lower growing with a tendency to sucker[157].
Sometimes confused with H. lissosperma, some plants grown as H. acicularis are H. lissosperma[11].
A good bee plant.
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow March in a greenhouse. Germination is usually good. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts[78].
Cuttings of mature wood[1].

Cultivars

'': There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Hakea acicularis (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for the family Proteaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[64] Howes. F. N. Vegetable Gums and Resins. Faber
A very good book dealing with the subject in a readable way.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[154] Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.
A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.

[157] Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. Australian Native Plants. Collins. (Australia) 1988 ISBN 0-7322-0021-0
A lovely book, written in order to encourage Australian gardeners to grow their native plants. A little bit of information for the plant project.

[166] Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent 1990
A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[265] Carolin. R. & Tindale. M. Flora of the Sydney Region Reed. Australia. 1993 ISBN 0730104001
Concise flora with little beyond an extensive key, species descriptions, very brief habitat description.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.