''Bossiaea bossiaeoides'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to northern Australia. It is much-branched, glabrous shrub with broadly winged stems, winged and lobed

cladodes :''In botany, "Cladodes" may refer to a synonym of the genus '' Alchornea'' or to the plural of " cladode".'' ''Cladodes'' is a genus of firefly beetles. It used to be included in the subfamily Amydetinae, which is probably a highly artifici ...

, leaves reduced to small scales, and yellow flowers, sometimes with orange or red blotches.

Description

''Bossiaea bossiaeoides'' is a much-branched, glabrous shrub that typically grows to a height of . The stems are broadly winged, with winged cladodes wide that have triangular, sharply-pointed lobes. The leaves are reduced to brown, egg-shaped scales, long. The flowers are arranged singly or in groups of up to six, each flower on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long with egg-shaped

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s long and slightly shorter bracteoles at the base. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s are joined at the base forming a tube long, the two upper lobes about long and the lower three lobes shorter and narrower. The standard petal is yellow, sometimes tinged with orange or red, and long, the wings long and the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

yellow or orange and long. Flowering occurs from April to August and the fruit is an oblong

pod Pod or POD may refer to: Biology * Pod (fruit), a type of fruit of a flowering plant * Husk or pod of a legume * Pod of whales or other marine mammals * "-pod", a suffix meaning "foot" used in taxonomy Electronics and computing * Proper ort ...

long.

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1842 by George Bentham from an unpublished description by Allan Cunningham who gave it the name ''Acacia bossiaeoides'' in the ''London Journal of Botany''. Cunningham's specimens were collected near the mouth of the

Liverpool River Liverpool River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the largest of the tidal river, tidal river systems of northern Arnhem Land, which includes two major tributaries, the Tomkinson and Mann Rivers. Geography The river ris ...

in the Northern Territory. In 1971,

Arthur Bertram Court Arthur Bertram Court (25 December 1927 – 18 May 2012) was an Australian botanist He grew up in the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria where he became interested in local flora especially ferns and orchids. Court graduated and received his Bachelor o ...

changed the name to ''Bossiaea bossiaeoides'' in the journal '' Muelleria''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''bossiaeoides'') means "''bossiaea''-like", the species having originally been placed in the genus ''Acacia''.

Distribution and habitat

''Bossiaea bossiaeoides'' grows in open woodland or low scrub, on sand over sandstone, on dry stony hillside, often in dry stream beds or the banks of watercourses. It is widespread in tropical Australia, from islands off the coast of north-western Western Australia, through northern Western Australia and the Northern Territory to north-western Queensland.

Conservation status

This bossiaea is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

, and as "least concern" under the Northern Territory Government '' Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976'' and the Queensland Government ''

Nature Conservation Act 1992 The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota. As originally published, it prov ...

''.

References

External links

The Australasian Virtual Herbarium – ''Bossiaea bossiaeoiedes'' occurrence data
{{Taxonbar , from = Q15525717, foc = no bossiaeoides Flora of Queensland Flora of Western Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Plants described in 1842 Taxa named by George Bentham