Hakea chordophylla

Hakea chordophylla
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
Order:	Proteales
Family:	Proteaceae
Genus:	Hakea
Species:	H. chordophylla
Binomial name
Hakea chordophylla F.Muell.[1]

Hakea chordophylla, commonly known as bootlace oak, bootlace tree, corkwood, or bull oak, is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Proteaceae found in central and northern Australia.

The species was first formally described by Victorian Government Botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1857,^[1] from a collection in Sturt's Creek in the Northern Territory.^[2] Its name chordophylla is derived from Ancient Greek chordo "cord" and phyllon "leaf".^[3] It belongs to a group of related species known as the corkbarks, or lorea group, within the genus Hakea, most of which are found across Australia's arid interior.^[4]

Hakea chordophylla grows as a gnarled shrub or tree 2 to 6 metres (7 to 20 ft) high.^[2] The trunk bears thick corklike bark with many furrows,^[3] and has a woody base known as a lignotuber. The long thin leaves are tough and thick. They measure from 22 to 42 cm (9–16 in) long and 1.6 to 2.9 mm wide. Measuring 7 to 13 cm (3–5 in) in length, the inflorescences contain anywhere from 35 to 70 individual small flowers and are various shades of yellow to green. Flowering is from June to September, and is followed by the production of beaked valved woody seed pods measuring 2.6–4 cm (1–1.6 in) in length, each producing two winged seeds.^[2]

Hakea chordophylla ranges across the interior of central and northern Australia, from western Queensland though to northern Western Australia,^[2] to south of Karratha. It grows in spinifex grassland on stony or red-brown sandy soil.^[5]

It is a slow growing but attractive plant in cultivation, its leaves and bark a feature. Full sun and good drainage are helpful.^[3]

References