Bossiaea divaricata
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
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|status_system = DECF
|status = P4
|genus = Bossiaea
|species = divaricata
|authority = Turcz.{{cite web|title=Bossiaea divaricata|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/62391|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=22 July 2021}}
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Bossiaea divaricata is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a low, dense, openly-branched shrub with oblong to egg-shaped leaves and deep yellow and dark red flowers.
Description
Bossiaea divaricata is a dense, rigid, openly-branched shrub that typically grows up to {{cvt|0.5|m}} high and {{cvt|1|m}} wide, the short side branches ending in a sharp point. The leaves are arranged alternately, oblong to narrow egg-shaped, {{cvt|8–18|mm}} long and {{cvt|2.5–6|mm}} wide on a petiole {{cvt|0.3–0.6|mm}} long with egg-shaped stipules {{cvt|2–4.5|mm}} long at the base. The edges of the leaves curve downwards and the lower surface is hairy. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils, each flower on a pedicel {{cvt|2.5–4.0|mm}} long with overlapping egg-shaped bracts up to {{cvt|3|mm}} long attached. The five sepals are joined at the base with lobes {{cvt|2.3–3.7|mm}} long. There are bracteoles {{cvt|2.8–3.5|mm}} long at the base of the sepal tube. The standard petal is deep yellow with a reddish base and {{cvt|8–11|mm}} long, the wings pink to red with a yellow tip and {{cvt|7.0–9.5|mm}} long, the keel dark red with a pinkish base and {{cvt|7.4–9.5|mm}} long. The fruit is a dark brown pod {{cvt|11–20|mm}} long.{{FloraBase|name=Bossiaea divaricata|id=3709}}{{cite journal |last1=Ross |first1=James H. |title=A conspectus of the Western Australian Bossiaea species (Bossiaeeae: Fabaceae) |journal=Muelleria |date=2006 |volume=23 |pages=59–60 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/278250#page/61/mode/1up |access-date=22 July 2021}}
Taxonomy and naming
Bossiaea divaricata was first formally described in 1853 by Nikolai Turczaninow in the Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou.{{cite journal|last1=Turczaninow|first1=Nikolai|title=Bossiaea divaricata|journal=Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou|date=1853|volume=26|issue=1|page=285 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/107140#page/291/mode/1up|accessdate=22 July 2021}}{{cite web|title=Bossiaea divaricata|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/468068 |publisher=APNI|access-date=21 July 2021}} The specific epithet (divaricata) means "widely spreading", referring to the branching habit.{{cite book |last1=Sharr |first1=Francis Aubi |last2=George |first2=Alex |title=Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings |date=2019 |publisher=Four Gables Press |location=Kardinya, WA |isbn=9780958034180 |page=185 |edition=3rd}}
Distribution and habitat
This bossiaea grows in mallee and woodland in disturbed sites in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions of south-western Western Australia.
Conservation status
Bossiaea divaricata is classified as "Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife, meaning that is rare or near threatened.{{cite web|title=Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna|url=https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/plants-animals/threatened-species/Listings/Conservation%20code%20definitions.pdf|publisher=Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife|accessdate=22 July 2021}}
References
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Category:Eudicots of Western Australia