Hakea drupacea sweet hakea

Hakea drupacea. From An Illustrated Manual of Pacific Coast Trees, Howard E. McMinn & Evelyn Maino

H. suaveolens is a dense shrub growing to about 10 feet with attractive soft green feathery new growth in spring, but not a plant to walk into in the dark. The leaves harden into forked needles sharpened to a point. The flowers are small, white, and sweetly scented and lead to beaked woody fruits containing two winged seeds. One wonders what evolutionary step favored the investment of so much wood to protect only two seeds.

A row on Escondido Road, west of Campus Drive East, has been lost to relandscaping.