Bossiaea vombata
{{Short description|Species of legume}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Species box
|image_caption =
|genus = Bossiaea
|species = vombata
|authority = J.H.Ross{{cite web|title=Bossiaea vombata|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/214687|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=29 September 2021}}
|synonyms=Bossiaea sp. aff. bracteosa (Wombat Forest)
}}
Bossiaea vombata, commonly known as wombat bossiaea,{{cite web |title=Bossiaea vombata |url=https://www.environment.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/55651/Wombat-Bossiaea-final-recommendation.pdf |publisher=State Government of Victoria, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning |access-date=29 September 2021}} is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the Wombat State Forest in Victoria, Australia. It is an erect shrub with flattened cladodes and yellow, pea-like flowers.
Description
Bossiaea vombata is a more or less glabrous, rhizome-forming shrub that typically grows to a height of up to {{cvt|1.2|m}}. The branches are flattened and winged, ending in greyish-green cladodes {{cvt|2–10|mm}} wide. The leaves are reduced to scales {{cvt|2–4|mm}} long and up to {{cvt|2|mm}} wide. The flowers are {{cvt|7–10|mm}} long and arranged singly on a pedicel {{cvt|1.0–2.5|mm}} long with broadly egg-shaped bracts up to {{cvt|3.1|mm}} long and egg-shaped, brown bracteoles {{cvt|2.8–3.7|mm}} long but that fall off as the flower opens. The five sepals are glabrous and joined at the base, forming a tube {{cvt|2.4–3.3|mm}} long, the two upper lobes {{cvt|1.7–2.2|mm}} long and the lower lobes slightly shorter. The standard petal is uniformly yellow, {{cvt|2.5–2.8|mm}} long and {{cvt|8.8–9.2|mm}} wide, the wings yellow and {{cvt|9.0–9.7|mm}} long, and the keel yellowish-white and {{cvt|9.0–9.8|mm}} long. Flowering occurs in October and fruit is rarely produced.{{cite web |last1=Messina |first1=Andre |last2=stajsic |first2=Val |title=Bossiaea vombata |url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/83244971-bcdb-4135-a15a-3cd4657d5eef |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria |access-date=29 September 2021}}{{cite journal |last1=Ross |first1=James H. |title=A new species of Bossiaea (Fabaceae: Bossiaeeae) from Victoria |journal=Muelleria |date=2008 |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=55–56 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/280195#page/57/mode/1up |access-date=29 September 2021}}{{cite journal |last1=Ross |first1=James H. |title=A revision of eastern Australian Bossiaea (Fabaceae: Bossiaeae) |journal=Muelleria |date=2012 |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=168–169 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/59608869#page/90/mode/1up |access-date=29 September 2021}}{{cite book |title=Wild Plants of Victoria (database)|year=2009 |publisher=Viridans Biological Databases & Department of Sustainability and Environment}}
Taxonomy
Bossiaea vombata was first formally described in 2008 by James Henderson Ross in the journal Muelleria from specimens he collected in the Wombat State Forest in 1995.{{cite web|title=Bossiaea vombata|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/632701 |publisher=APNI|access-date=29 September 2021}} The specific epithet (vombata) refers to the name of the state forest where this species is endemic.
Distribution and habitat
Wombat bossiaea is only known from the Wombat State Forest near Daylesford where it grows in open forest.
Conservation status
This bossiaea is classified as "endangered" under the Victorian Government Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.