''Bossiaea dentata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family
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 elsew ...
to the south of Western Australia. It is an erect, sometimes prostrate shrub with variably-shaped leaves and greenish-yellow or pink to
burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
-coloured flowers.
Description
''Bossiaea dentata'' is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of up to high, often with arching stems, but sometimes prostrate in exposed places. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, broadly egg-shaped to heart-shaped, or triangular to lance-shaped, sometimes linear, long and wide on a
petiole long with an egg-shaped
stipule long at the base. The edges of the leaves have irregular teeth and are sometimes rolled under. The flowers are usually 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
...
with two rigid, different-sized
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 up to long attached. The five
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 long and the three lower lobes slightly shorter. There are also
bracteole long but that fall off in the bud stage. The
standard petal is green to yellow, pale pink to dull red or burgundy and long, the
wings long, 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 ...
long. Flowering occurs from May to November 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 and naming
This species was first formally described in 1812 by
Robert Brown who gave it the name ''Scottia dentata'' in
William Aiton
William Aiton (17312 February 1793) was a Scotland, Scottish botanist.
Aiton was born near Hamilton, Scotland, Hamilton. Having been regularly trained to the profession of a gardener, he travelled to London in 1754, and became assistant to Phi ...
's ''
Hortus Kewensis
''Hortus Kewensis, or a Catalogue of the Plants Cultivated in the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew'' by William Aiton was a 1789 catalogue of all the plant species then in cultivation at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is ...
''.
In 1864,
George Bentham changed the name to ''Bossiaea dentata'' in ''
Flora Australiensis''.
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 ...
(''dentata'') means "toothed", referring to the edges of the leaves.
Distribution and habitat
This bossiaea grows in mallee, heath and scrub, often around large granite outcrops and is found from near
Albany to the
Cape Arid National Park
Cape Arid National Park is a List of national parks of Australia, national park located in Western Australia, southeast of Perth. The park is situated east of Esperance, Western Australia, Esperance and lies on the shore of the South coast of W ...
and on some offshore islands, in the
Esperance Plains
Esperance Plains, also known as Eyre Botanical District, is a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia on the south coast between the Avon Wheatbelt and Hampton bioregions, and bordered to the north by the Mallee region. It is a pl ...
,
Jarrah Forest
Jarrah forest is tall open forest in which the dominant overstory tree is ''Eucalyptus marginata'' (jarrah). The ecosystem occurs only in the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. It is most common in the biogeographic region named in ...
and
Warren
A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...
biogeographic regions
A biogeographic realm or ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivided into ecoregions.
De ...
of southern Western Australia.
Conservation status
''Bossiaea dentata'' 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 ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15525861
dentata
Eudicots of Western Australia
Plants described in 1812
Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)