Kingdom Plantae Family Proteaceae Genus Hakea | Order Proteales Subfamily Grevilleoideae Rank Species | |
Similar Hakea minyma, Hakea corymbosa, Hakea orthorrhyncha, Hakea amplexicaulis, Hakea scoparia | ||
Hakea preissii, commonly known as the Needle tree, Needle bush and Christmas hakea, is a shrub or tree of the genus Hakea native to an area in the Pilbara, Wheatbelt, Mid West and Goldfields-Esperance regions of Western Australia. The Noongar name for the plant is Tanjinn.
The erect shrub or tree typically grows to a height of 2 to 4 metres (6.6 to 13.1 ft). It blooms from August to December and produces yellow-green flowers.
It has branchlets that are moderately to densely appressed-pubescent on new growth, quickly glabrescent, and glaucous in their second year. The rigid, simple leaves are rarely divided apically into 2 or 3 segments, 1 to 6 centimetres (0.4 to 2.4 in) in length and 1.5 to 2.5 millimetres (0.06 to 0.10 in) in width.
Inflorescence are axillary with 4–28 flowers with persistent pedicels 3.5 to 7 millimetres (0.14 to 0.28 in) long. Smooth grey to black fruit that are obliquely ovate or elliptic, dilated apically and approximately 2 centimetres (0.8 in) long and 1 centimetre (0.4 in) wide.
The plant is named for Ludwig Preiss (1811-1883), who made copious collections in Western Australia from 1838 to 1842.