Bossiaea obcordata
{{Short description|Species of legume}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
|name= Spiny bossiaea
|image = Bossiaea obcordata 8637.jpg
|image_caption = Brisbane Ranges National Park
|genus = Bossiaea
|species = obcordata
|authority = (Vent.) Druce{{cite web|title=Bossiaea obcordata|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/62674|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=12 August 2021}}
|range_map=BossiaeaobcordataDistMap48.png
|range_map_caption= Occurrence data from AVH
|synonyms=
Platylobium obcordatum Vent.
}}
File:Bossiaea obcordata leaves.jpg
Bossiaea obcordata, commonly known as spiny bossiaea,{{cite web |title=Bossiaea obcordata |url=https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Bossiaea~obcordata |publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney |access-date=12 August 2021}} is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It is an erect, rigid shrub with spiny branches, heart-shaped to egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, and yellow and purplish-brown flowers.
Description
Bossiaea obcordata is an erect, rigid shrub that typically grows to a height of up to {{cvt|1.5|m}} and has flattened branchlets that become spiny with age. The leaves are arranged alternately along the stems, broadly egg-shaped to heart-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, sometimes almost round, {{cvt|30–60|mm}} long and wide on a petiole {{cvt|0.5–1.5|mm}} long with narrow triangular stipules {{cvt|1–2|mm}} long at the base. The flowers are mostly {{cvt|8–10|mm}} long and arranged singly along the branches, each flower on a pedicel up to {{cvt|5|mm}} long. The sepals are {{cvt|3–5|mm}} long with bracteoles up to {{cvt|2|mm}} long on the pedicel. The standard petal is yellow with a red base and up to {{cvt|10|mm}} long, the wings usually purplish-brown and about {{cvt|2.5|mm}} wide and the keel pinkish to red and {{cvt|3–4|mm}} wide. Flowering occurs from September to October and the fruit is a narrow oblong pod {{cvt|15–20|mm}} long.{{cite web |last1=Ross |first1=James H. |title=Bossiaea obcordata |url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/013e6c06-39dc-44c2-a6a8-95e5218c5230 |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria |access-date=12 August 2021}}{{cite journal |last1=Thompson |first1=Ian R. |title=A revision of eastern Australian Bossiaea (Fabaceae: Bossiaeae) |journal=Muelleria |date=2012 |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=149–150 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/59608869#page/67/mode/1up |access-date=12 August 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Wood |first1=Betty |title=Bossiaea obcordata |url=https://apps.lucidcentral.org/plants_se_nsw/text/entities/bossiaea_obcordata.htm |publisher=Lucid Keys |access-date=12 August 2021}}
Taxonomy
Spiny bossiaea was first formally described in 1804 by Étienne Pierre Ventenat who gave it the name Platylobium obcordatum in his book, Le Jardin de la Malmaison.{{cite web|title=Platylobium obcordatum|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/495693 |publisher=APNI|access-date=12 August 2021}}{{cite book |last1=Ventenat |first1=Étienne |title=Le Jardin de la Malamison |date=1804 |location=Paris |page=31 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/139922#page/136/mode/1up |access-date=12 August 2021}} In 1917, George Claridge Druce changed the name to Bossia obcordata and the new name is accepted by the Australian Plant Census.{{cite web|title=Bossiaea obcordatum|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/468426 |publisher=APNI|access-date=12 August 2021}} The specific epithet (obcordata) refers to the obcordate shape of the leaves.{{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=263 |edition=3rd}}
Distribution and habitat
Bossiaea obcordata grows in forest and heath, often on dry sandstone ridges and slopes. It is found from far south-eastern Queensland through the coast, western slopes and tablelands of eastern New South Wales, to central and eastern Victoria. Specimens recorded from Tasmania are now included in Bossiaea tasmanica.{{cite web |title=Bossiaea tasmanica |url=https://www.naturalvaluesatlas.tas.gov.au/downloadattachment?id=17265 |publisher=Tasmanian Government Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment |access-date=12 August 2021}}