Bossiaea oxyclada
{{Short description|Species of legume}}
{{Speciesbox
|name =
|image =
|image_caption =
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|status = VU
|genus = Bossiaea
|species = oxyclada
|authority = Turcz.{{cite web|title=Bossiaea oxyclada|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/62708|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=18 August 2021}}
|synonyms = Bossiaea rufa var. oxyclada (Turcz.) Benth.
|range_map = BossiaeaoxycladaDistMap52.png
|range_map_caption = Range map generated from data at Australasian Virtual Herbarium
}}
Bossiaea oxyclada is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is an erect, rigid shrub with flattened branches, cladodes ending with a sharp point, leaves mostly reduced to small scales, and golden yellow and deep red flowers.
Description
Bossiaea oxyclada is an erect, rigid shrub that typically grows to {{cvt|90|cm}} high, {{cvt|60|cm}} wide and has flattened branches and cladodes {{cvt|2–4|mm}} wide ending in a sharp point. The leaves on older growth are reduced to triangular scales {{cvt|0.5–1|mm}} long. New growth sometimes has more or less round leaves {{cvt|4–20|mm}} long and {{cvt|4–12|mm}} wide on a petiole {{cvt|1.5–3.5|mm}} long with stipules {{cvt|1.7–3.5|mm}} long at the base. The flowers are arranged singly in nodes on a pedicel {{cvt|2.0–4.5|mm}} long with overlapping, pinkish-brown bracts up to {{cvt|1.3|mm}} long at the base and bracteoles near the middle of the pedicels. The sepals are joined at the base forming a tube {{cvt|2.0–4.1|mm}} long, the two upper lobes slightly longer than the lower three lobes. The standard petal is golden yellow with a red base, {{cvt|8.7–12.5|mm}} long, the wings are {{cvt|8.0–11.6|mm}} long and the keel deep red and {{cvt|8.2–11.2|mm}} long. Flowering occurs from September to October and the fruit is pod {{cvt|20–23|mm}} long.{{FloraBase|name=Bossiaea oxyclada|id=18498}}{{cite journal |last1=Ross |first1=James H. |title=A conspectus of the Western Australian Bossiaea species (Bossiaeeae: Fabaceae). Muelleria 23: |journal=Muelleria |date=2006 |volume=11 |pages=127–128 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/278250#page/129/mode/1up |access-date=18 August 2021}}
Taxonomy and naming
Bossiaea oxyclada was first formally described in 1853 by Nikolai Turczaninow in the Bulletin de la Société impériale des naturalistes de Moscou from specimens collected by James Drummond.{{cite web|title=Bossiaea oxyclada|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/468470 |publisher=APNI|access-date=18 August 2021}}{{cite journal |last1=Turcaaninow |first1=Nikolai |title=Papilionaceae. Podalyrieae et Loteae Australasicae Non-Nullae, Hucusque non Descriptae |journal=Bulletin de la Société impériale des naturalistes de Moscou |date=1853 |pages=284–285 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/107140#page/290/mode/1up |access-date=18 August 2021}} The specific epithet (oxyclada) means "sharp branch".{{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=268 |edition=3rd}}
Distribution and habitat
This bossiaea is found in the western part of the Fitzgerald River National Park in the Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions, where it grows in a sandplain community with scattered eucalypts.
Conservation status
Bossiaea oxyclada is classified as "Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife, meaning that it 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=18 August 2021}}
References
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Category:Flora of Western Australia