''Pultenaea grayi'', commonly known as Murrumbidgee bossiaea, 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 the

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. ...

. It is an erect shrub with flattened, winged,

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

cladodes, leaves reduced to small scales, and pea-like, yellow and red flowers.

Description

''Bossiaea grayi'' is an erect,

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

-forming shrub that typically grows to a height of up to . The flowers are borne on flattened, winged, more or less erect cladodes up to wide. The leaves are reduced to reddish-brown scales, long and pressed against the cladode. The flowers are borne singly at nodes on the cladode, each 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, dark brown

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, at the base. 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 long and joined at the base forming a tube with more or less equal lobes long. There are also

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 of ...

but that fall off before the flower opens. 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 deep yellow with a red base 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 expresse ...

yellow with a red base and about 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 ...

is dark red and long. Flowering occurs in September and October and the fruit is an oblong pod long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Bossiaea grayi'' was first formally described in 2009 by

Keith Leonard McDougall Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

in the journal '' Telopea'' from specimens collected near the

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

, downstream from the Kambah Pool in 1980. 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 ...

(''grayi'') honours the retired taxonomis
Max Gray

Distribution and habitat

Murrumbidgee bossiaea grows in woodland on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River and its tributaries in the Australian Capital Territory.

Conservation status

''Bossiaea grayi'' is listed as "endangered" under the Australian Capital Territory Government ''

Nature Conservation Act 2014 The ''Nature Conservation Act 2014'' (''NC Act'') is a territory-based act of parliament in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The NC Act is "the chief legislation for the protection of native plants and animals in the ACT and for the manage ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q65931876 grayi Flora of the Australian Capital Territory Plants described in 2009