''Bossiaea modesta'' 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 ranges east of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

in Western Australia. It is a sub-shrub with wiry, trailing to twining stems, linear to elliptic or oblong leaves, and small yellow and red flowers.

Description

''Bossiaea modesta'' is a sub-shrub that typically grows to a height of up to when supported by other plants, and has wiry, trailing and twining stems. The leaves are linear to elliptic or oblong, long and wide with tapering

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

s long and shorter than the petiole. The flowers are arranged singly, 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 a single oblong

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 ...

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 the two upper lobes long and the lower lobes long, with oblong

bracteole 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 long just below the base of the sepal tube. 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 ...

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 red and long. Flowering occurs from October to December.

Taxonomy and naming

''Bossiaea modesta'' was first formally described in 1994 by

James Henderson Ross James Henderson Ross (born 1941) is an Australian botanist. Authority abbreviation References {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, James Henderson Living people 1941 births 20th-century Australian botanists ...

in the journal '' Muelleria'' from specimens collected by Margaret Corrick in the

Mount Dale Mount Dale is a mountain in Western Australia about east of Armadale in the Shire of Beverley. At high, it is one of the highest points in the Darling Scarp. It is best known for its walk track, which forms part of the Bibbulmun Track. Th ...

area in 1983. 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 ...

(''modesta'') means "modest" or "unassuming".

Distribution and habitat

This bossiaea grows in damp places near Mount Dale and on the

Darling Range The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north–south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia. The escarpment extends generally north of Bindoon, to th ...

to the east and south east of Perth in the

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

Swan Coastal Plain The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...

biogeographic regions.

Conservation status

''Bossiaea modesta'' 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=Q15525754

modesta ''Modesta'' is a 1956 short film, set in Puerto Rico, in which a peasant woman rebels against her husband's authoritarianism. She and the other women of her community organize the Liberated Women League to fight for their rights. It stars Ant ...

Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1994