Botanical art
Prior names
Hakea intermedia, partly
Hakea ivoryi, partly
Grevillea eyreana
Common names
Straggly Corkbark
Fork-leaf Corkwood
Etymology
Hakea named after Baron Christian Ludwig von Hake (1745-1818), a German horticulturalist and patron of botany. Eyreana named for the locality of the type specimen, Lake Eyre, which was named in honour of the English explorer Edward John Eyre.
Distribution and status
Found in north-eastern South Australia, growing in sand-dunes or nearby creeks, swales or gibber flats. Also found in the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales. Native. Common in South Australia. Rare in New South Wales. Common in the other States.
Herbarium region: Lake Eyre
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Bushy to slender tree to 5 m high, re-sprouting from the base; bark dark and fissured; young leaves, branchlets and inflorescences with ash-white hairs. Leaves compound, to 95 mm long, terete, sometimes obscurely grooved below; divided many times with a pungent tip; grey-green with white hairs. Inflorescence a spike with 35-105 yellow flowers. Flowering between May and November. Fruits are greyish-brown woody narrow ovoid fruit to 42 mm long and 12 mm wide, with a sharp pointed end. Fruit splits into two to reveal two seeds. Seed embryo type is investing.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between October and January. Collect mature woody fruit that are greyish-brown and not split. These will contain seeds. Place the woody fruit in a tray and leave to dry until it split open. Fruits can be placed in the oven at low temperatures to achieve the same result. Place the dried fruit in a bucket and shake to dislodge the seeds from the valves. Separate the seeds from the fruit and store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily without pre-treatment.