''Bossiaea saxosa'' 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 restricted 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 ...
, Western Australia. It is an erect, intricately branched shrub with many slightly flattened, sharply-pointed
cladodes and deep yellow, red and lemon-yellow, pea-like flowers.
Description
''Bossiaea saxosa'' is an erect, intricately-branched shrub that typically grows up to high and wide with hairy young growth. The branches are slightly flattened, ending in sharply pointed cladodes wide. The leaves, when present, are reduced to dark, reddish-brown scales long. The flowers are arranged singly at nodes along the cladodes, each flower on a hairy
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
...
up to long with egg-shaped
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 and egg-shaped
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 on the pedicels. 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 hairy and joined at the base, forming a tube long, the two upper lobes long and the lower lobes long. 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 ...
deep yellow and 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 ...
lemon-yellow and long. Flowering occurs from September to early October and the fruit is an oblong
pod long.
Taxonomy and naming
''Bossiaea saxosa'' 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 he collected near Norseman in 2000.
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 ...
(''saxosa'') means "of rocky or stony places".
Distribution and habitat
This bossiaea is only known from a small area north of Norseman where it grows in woodland.
Conservation status
''Bossiaea saxosa'' is classified as "
Priority One
Prioritization is an action that arranges items or activities in order of importance.
Priority may refer specifically to:
Law
* Priority or right of way on the road, see Traffic ยง Priority (right of way)
** Priority signs, a traffic sign that ...
" by the Government of Western Australia
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions
The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Western Australian government
The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state de ...
,
meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q51043429
saxosa
Flora of Western Australia
Plants described in 2006