About Hakea rostrata F.Muell.
Hakea rostrata F.Muell. is a spreading shrub that reaches 1 to 4 metres (3.3 to 13.1 feet) in height. Its branchlets and young leaves have hairs that lie close to the surface of the branchlet or leaf. The ascending leaves are terete, measuring 2 to 15 centimetres (0.8 to 5.9 inches) long and 0.8 to 1.7 millimetres wide, and they have no grooves. The inflorescence bears 1 to 10 flowers and grows on a knob-like rachis. The pedicel is 2.5 to 6.5 millimetres long and densely hairy. The perianth is 3.5 to 5.5 millimetres long, and hairy at its base. The pistil is 7.8 to 11.5 millimetres long, with an oblique disc acting as its pollen presenter. The fruit grows at roughly a right angle to its stalk, has a sigmoid shape, and measures 2.2 to 4.5 centimetres (0.9 to 1.8 inches) long and 1.8 to 3.2 centimetres (0.7 to 1.3 inches) wide. The fruit surface is coarsely wrinkled, and sometimes covered in fine black warts. Its beak is reflexed and narrow, 7 to 14 millimetres long, pressed against the ventral face, and has obscure horns. The seed does not fill the entire valve face, is black, and has a lighter-coloured apex. In Victoria, this species flowers from July to November. In Victoria, it grows across a range of heathlands and heathy woodlands in the western and south-western parts of the state, mostly on sandy soils. In Victoria, where Hakea rostrata and H. rugosa grow in the same location, Hakea rostrata can be distinguished from H. rugosa by its curved rather than straight leaves, curved rather than straight style, oblique disc pollen presenter instead of a conical one, and its larger fruits.
