''Bossiaea laxa'' 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 a small area near
Norseman
The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the pre ...
in Western Australia. It is a spreading, openly-branched shrub with linear to narrow oblong leaves, and bright yellow and red flowers.
Description
''Bossiaea laxa'' is a spreading, openly-branched shrub that typically grows up to a height of up to and has branchlets that are flattened to oval in cross-section. The leaves are linear to narrow oblong, long and wide on a
petiole long with triangular
stipules long at the base. The flowers are arranged singly or in small groups, each flower on a thread-like
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. There is only a single
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 but that falls off at the bud stage. 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 with lobes long, with oblong
bracteoles long on the pedicel. The
standard petal is bright yellow with a faint red base 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 ...
is pale greenish-yellow and long. Flowering has been observed in May.
Taxonomy and naming
''Bossiaea laxa'' was first formally described in 2006 by
James Henderson Ross in the journal ''
Muelleria'' from specimens collected in the Cave Hill Reserve north-west of Norseman in 2003.
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 ...
(''laxa'') means "loose" or "open" referring to the species' growth form.
Distribution and habitat
This bossiaea is only known from the Cave Hill Reserve in the
Coolgardie biogeographic region
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
where it grows in woodland.
Conservation status
''Bossiaea laxa'' is classified as "
Priority Two" by the Western Australian Government
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 ...
,
meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q51043420
laxa
Flora of Western Australia
Plants described in 2006