Hakea planted in Australia in honor of farmer who found it
In Ravensthorpe, in Western Australia, a native flowering plant is being planted in honor of farmer Mark Mudie, who found it two years before his death. Mudie, a farmer and deputy president of the Shire of Ravensthorpe council, died last December while fighting a fire in the West River area. The blaze destroyed more than 5,000 hectares of farmland, ABC News Australia reports.
The plant is considered a likely hakea hybrid. It is being planted in Ravensthorpe, about 500 kilometers south of Perth, to honor Mudie’s memory. He found the unusual plant in a gravel pit in Ravensthorpe.
A discovery during sowing season
The farmer’s son, Nathan Mudie, said his father was interested in native flora and often walked through bushland near the community. According to him, during sowing season Mark Mudie called him from his truck and said he had found a plant he had never seen before. Samples were then submitted for further research.
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Sue Leighton, coordinator of the Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show and Herbarium, said Mudie regularly sent her photographs of plants to find out their names. When he reported the unusual hakea, three herbarium staff members inspected it and took cuttings for research.
Taxonomy and a possible name
According to Leighton, one taxonomist believes the plant is a subspecies of another one, but no seeds have been found on it, so herbarium staff assume it is a hybrid. Kings Park senior horticulturist Digby Growns said the shrub was covered in ball-shaped flowers resembling those of Hakea laurina. In his view, it may be a hybrid of this hakea and another, as yet unidentified species.
The cuttings were taken to grow the plant in cultivation and preserve it, as only one specimen was known. Kings Park gave the herbarium two plants: one will be planted in the Ravensthorpe Herbarium garden, while the other will be given to Mark Mudie’s wife, Elaine. Leighton noted that determining its taxonomic status could take years. If the plant can be grown as a hybrid, it may receive the commercial name Mudie Surprise.
