Bossiaea simulata
{{Short description|Species of legume}}
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
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|image =
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|status_system = DECF
|status = P2
|genus = Bossiaea
|species = simulata
|authority = J.H.Ross{{cite web|title=Bossiaea simulata|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/201566|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=5 September 2021}}
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Bossiaea simulata is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to inland areas of Western Australia. It is a compact shrub with sharply-pointed cladodes and yellow, pea-like flowers sometimes with red markings.
Description
Bossiaea simulata is a compact shrub that typically grows up to {{cvt|0.9|m}} high and {{cvt|1|m}} wide with many stems at the base. The branches are flattened and end in sharply pointed cladodes {{cvt|1.5–3.0|mm}} wide. The leaves, when present, are reduced to egg-shaped scales {{cvt|0.6–1.2|mm}} long. The flowers are arranged singly, in pairs or threes at nodes along the cladodes, each flower on a hairy pedicel {{cvt|1.8–4.6|mm}} long with egg-shaped bracts up to {{cvt|1.2|mm}} long and wide at the base and narrow egg-shaped, reddish-brown bracteoles {{cvt|0.9–2.0|mm}} long on the pedicels. The five sepals are hairy and joined at the base, forming a tube {{cvt|1.7–2.9|mm}} long, the two upper lobes {{cvt|0.8–1.5|mm}} long and the lower lobes slightly shorter. The standard petal is golden yellow, sometimes with a red base, and {{cvt|7.5–10.1|mm}} long, the wings {{cvt|6.8–9.5|mm}} long, and the keel pale greenish-yellow and {{cvt|6.7–8.8|mm}} long. Flowering occurs from October to December and the fruit is an oblong pod {{cvt|12–19|mm}} long.{{FloraBase|name=Bossiaea simulata|id=30257}}{{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=132–135 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/278250#page/134/mode/1up |access-date=5 September 2021}}
Taxonomy and naming
Bossiaea simulata was first formally described in 1994 by James Henderson Ross in the journal Muelleria from specimens collected near Mount Willgonarinya in 1997.{{cite web|title=Bossiaea simulata|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/608757 |publisher=APNI|access-date=5 September 2021}} The specific epithet (simulata) means "imitating" or "resembling", referring to the superficial resemblance of this species to Bossiaea celata.
Distribution and habitat
This bossiaea grows in low Eucalyptus woodland from Mount Malcolm near Leonora to Mount Willgonarinya, in the Coolgardie and Mallee biogeographic regions of inland Western Australia.
Conservation status
Bossiaea simulata is classified as "Priority Two" by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations.{{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=5 September 2021}}