152 



THE XEROPHILOUS CHARACTERS OF HAKEA 

 DACTYLOIDES Cav. [N.O. Proteace^]. 



By a. G. Hamilton. 

 (Plates ix,-x.) 



Hakea dactyloides is a low shrub, very common in sandy places 

 about Sydney, and on the coast and mountains wherever the 

 Hawkesbury Sandstone occurs. It is associated with Petrophila 

 ■pedmiculata, Banksia ericifolia, B. serrata, Lamhertia formosa, 

 Hakea pugioniformis, Leptuspermum, scoparium, Darwinia fasci- 

 cularis and other xerophytes. 



Like all drought-resisting plants, it is of slow growth, and the 

 stems are tough and woody. They are covered with hairs of two 

 kinds, long and slender, and capitate hairs of small size. The 

 vascular bundles contain many thick-walled fibres, which make 

 the twigs very tough. 



The leaves are rather few in number, arranged sj^irally, and 

 placed vertically, so that the edges are presented to the light. They 

 are obovate in shape, narrowing to a short petiole. The apex of 

 the leaf is sometimes cjuite rounded («, Fig. 1), and sometimes 

 narrowing to a short point(6, Fig.l). In the latter variety, they 

 are relatively rather narrower than the round-topped leaves are. 

 There are three principal veins, the secondary veins ramifying in 

 between, and these sometimes have blind ends (Fig. 1). There is 

 also a vein round the edge. They vary in size according to the 

 character of the season in which they develop. If the growth 

 period — November to February — be wet, they reach a size of 14 

 X 3*5 cm.; if rain is scarce, they barely reach 6 x 1*5 cm. They 

 are thick, rigid, and tough. The colour is light olive-green (darker 

 in plants growing in shady places), with the marginal thickening 

 reddish. The surface is smooth and dull, and the primary veins 

 project on both sides. The yoiing leaves and shoots have a dense 



