''Bossiaea milesiae'' 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 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-coloured and red flowers.

Description

''Bossiaea milesiae'' is an erect shrub that typically grows up to high with flattened cladodes up to wide, and that forms

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 ...

s. The leaves are reduced to coppery-brown scales, long. The flowers are borne on

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

long and have four to eight scales 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 lobes long, the two upper lobes about wide and the lower three lobes about wide. 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 ...

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 to apricot 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 wide, 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 ...

red with a paler base and long. Flowering occurs from August to September and the fruit is an oblong pod long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Bossiaea milesiae'' 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 he collected near

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 flows ...

in 2006. 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 ...

(''milesiae'') honours the botanist Jackie Miles.

Distribution and habitat

This bossiaea grows in forest and woodland, sometimes in river beds, mostly in and near

Wadbilliga National Park Wadbilliga National Park is a national park that is located in high country spanning the Monaro and South Coast regions of south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Location and features Wadbilliga National Park is located southwest of Sydney ...

in south-eastern New South Wales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q65931882 milesiae Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 2009