''Bossiaea bracteosa'', commonly known as mountain leafless bossiaea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is

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 else ...

to north-eastern Victoria, Australia. It is a dense shrub that often forms root suckers and has winged branches, winged and lobed cladodes, leaves reduced to small scales, and deep yellow flowers, often with red blotches.

Description

''Bossiaea bracteosa'' is a dense, erect to spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of and often forms root suckers. The branches are flattened and winged, with cladodes wide with lobed edges. The leaves are reduced to broadly egg-shaped scales, long. The flowers are arranged singly, 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 overlapping bracts up to about long and

bracteoles 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 o ...

that fall off as the flower buds develop. 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 coine ...

s are long and joined at the base with five more or less similar lobes long. The

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

petal is bright yellow with faint red marks, and long, the

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...

and 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 ...

dark red and long. Flowering occurs from November to December and the fruit is an oblong pod long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Bossiaea bracteosa'' was first formally described in 1864 by

George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

in ''

Flora Australiensis ''Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory'', more commonly referred to as ''Flora Australiensis'', and also known by its standard abbreviation ''Fl. Austral.'', is a seven-volume flora of Australia published be ...

'' from an unpublished description by Ferdinand von Mueller from specimens he collected in the

Australian Alps The Australian Alps is a mountain range in southeast Australia. It comprises an interim Australian bioregion,0042-5184 However, the moth has also been a biovector of arsenic, transporting it from lowland feeding sites over long distances int ...

. The specific epithet (''bracteosa'') means "having many bracts. There are five recently described species that were previously included in a wider circumscription of ''Bossiaea bracteosa'': *''

Bossiaea bombayensis ''Bossiaea bombayensis'', commonly known as bombay bossiaea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to a small area of New South Wales. It is an erect shrub with flattened cladodes, small, scale-like leaves, and pe ...

'', on the Shoalhaven River near Braidwood, New South Wales *''

Bossiaea fragrans ''Pultenaea fragrans'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to a small area of New South Wales. It is an erect shrub with flattened Phylloclade, cladodes, small, scale-like leaves, and pea-like, yellow and red flo ...

'',

Abercrombie Caves The Abercrombie Caves, contained within the Abercrombie Karst Conservation Reserve, are a series of limestone arch caves that are located in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The caves are renowned for their karst quali ...

, New South Wales *''

Bossiaea grayi ''Pultenaea grayi'', commonly known as Murrumbidgee bossiaea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the Australian Capital Territory. It is an erect shrub with flattened, winged, glabrous cladodes, leaves reduc ...

'',

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. I ...

*''

Bossiaea milesiae ''Bossiaea milesiae'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of New South Wales. It is an erect shrub with flattened, winged cladodes, small, scale-like leaves, and pea-like yellow to apricot-c ...

'', near the

Brogo Dam Brogo Dam is a minor ungated rockfill embankment dam with an uncontrolled unlined rock cut spillway across the Brogo River upstream of Brogo in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's purpose includes environmental flo ...

, New South Wales *''

Bossiaea vombata ''Bossiaea vombata'', commonly known as wombat bossiaea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the Wombat State Forest in Victoria, Australia. It is an erect shrub with flattened cladodes and yellow, pea-like ...

'',

Wombat State Forest The Wombat State Forest (locally: Bullarook) is located west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, between Woodend and Daylesford, at the Great Dividing Range. The forest is approximately in size and sits upon Ordovician or Cenozoic sediments. ...

, Victoria

Distribution and habitat

This bossiaea grows in shallow soil in snowgum woodland at altitudes between in north-eastern Victoria, where it is classed as "rare", although common in some populations.

References

External links

Herbarium specimen at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15525734 bracteosa Flora of Victoria (state) Plants described in 1864 Taxa named by George Bentham