Hakea denticulata, commonly known as Stinking Roger, is a shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 tree endemic southern Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. One of the many species of Australian plant described by the botanist Robert Brown

Robert Brown (botanist)

Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...

, it is a compact shrub up to 1 or 2 metres high and wide with red flowers in the spring, of a powerful odor.

Taxonomy

Robert Brown

Robert Brown (botanist)

Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...

 described Hakea denticulata in 1830 in his Supplementum primum Prodromi florae Novae Hollandiae

Supplementum Primum Prodromi Florae Novae Hollandiae

Supplementum primum Prodromi florae Novae Hollandiae is an 1830 supplement to Robert Brown's Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. It may be referred to by its standard botanical abbreviation Suppl. Prodr. Fl. Nov...

, a supplement to his 1810 work. Byron Lamont

Byron Lamont

Professor Byron Barnard Lamont is a Western Australian botanist. He is currently a senior researcher within the Department of Environmental Biology of Curtin University of Technology...

 differentiated what was previously considered a form of Hakea prostrata

Hakea prostrata

Hakea prostrata is a species of shrub that is native to the south-west of Western Australia. Plants grow to between 1 and 3 metres in height and have leaves with prickly edges...

and named in H. rubriflora in 1973, but it was found to be synonymous with H. denticulata. Brown's name is derived from the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

denticulus "little tooth", hence "with little teeth", referring to the leaf margins, while Lamont's name was derived from the Latin ruber "red" and flos "flower". Its common name is Stinking Roger.

Hakea denticulata was reclassified along with five other species in the Prostrata group in the 1999 Flora of Australia treatment.

Description

Hakea denticulata grows as a dense woody shrub to 1 or 2 metres (3-7 ft) high and wide. The flat leaves are more or less oval-shaped and measure 1.5–4.6 cm (0.6-0.9 in) in length by 1–2.5 cm (0.4-1 in) wide. The leaf margins bear 2 to 10 teeth measuring 1–2 mm long each side. Flowers occur July to October, and the orange-red to cream inflorescences are axillary (arise along branchlets) and have a strong and offensive odour. The flowers are followed by pointed oval seed pods bearing two seeds each.

Distribution and habitat

Hakea denticulata occurs on Western Australia's southern coast from Albany to east of Esperance. It reaches the Stirling Range to the north. It is found on a range of soils from sand to gravel and even a heavier clay loam.

Cultivation

Although the plant has attractive foliage and flowers, the latter's smell rather limits its use in cultivation.