Variable bossiaea
Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, Australia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Bossiaea
Species:
B. heterophylla
Binomial name
Bossiaea heterophylla
Occurrence data from AVH

Bossiaea heterophylla, commonly known as variable bossiaea,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a variable shrub with flattened stems, egg-shaped to linear leaves, and yellow and dark red flowers.

Description

Bossiaea heterophylla is a shrub that typically grows to a height of up to about 3 m (9.8 ft) and has flattened, glaucous, more or less glabrous branches 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) wide. The leaves are arranged in two rows along the stems, variably-shaped, linear to broadly egg-shaped, 10–30 mm (0.39–1.18 in) long and 1.5–12 mm (0.059–0.472 in) wide with triangular stipules up to 1 mm (0.039 in) long at the base. The flowers are 7–15 mm (0.28–0.59 in) long and arranged singly along the branches, each flower on a pedicel up to 5 mm (0.20 in) long with a few bracts up to 1.5 mm (0.059 in) long. The sepals are 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long with bracteoles up to 1.5 mm (0.059 in) long on the pedicel. The standard petal is yellow-orange with a red back and up to 15 mm (0.59 in) long, the wings 1.5–2.5 mm (0.059–0.098 in) wide and yellow sometimes flushed with pink and the keel is 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) wide and dark red. Flowering occurs from April to June and the fruit is a flat pod 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) long.[2][3][4][5]

Taxonomy

Bossiaea heterophylla was first formally described in 1800 by Étienne Pierre Ventenat in his book, Description des Plantes Nouvelles et peu connues, cultivées dans le Jardin de J.M. Cels, from specimens grown by Jacques Philippe Martin Cels, in turn grown from material collected from Botany Bay in 1792.[6][7] The specific epithet (heterophylla) means "unequal-leaved".[3][8]

Distribution and habitat

Variable bossiaea grows in a variety of habitats, usually in sandy soils and occurs on the coast and nearby tablelands south from Bundaberg in Queensland, through New South Wales to Victoria as far west as Rosedale. It also occurs in two small populations in northern Tasmania.[3][4][5][9][10]

Conservation status

This bossiaea is listed as "endangered" in Tasmania under the Tasmanian Government Threatened Species Protection Act 1995.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Bossiaea heterophylla". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 Fairley, Alan (2001). Wildflowers of Sydney and adjoing areas. Melbourne: Bloomings Books. p. 57. ISBN 187647338X.
  3. 1 2 3 Thompson, Ian R. (2012). "A revision of eastern Australian Bossiaea (Fabaceae: Bossiaeae)". Muelleria. 30 (2): 149–150. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Bossiaea heterophylla". Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  5. 1 2 Ross, James H. "Bossiaea heterophylla". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  6. ↑ "Bossiaea heterophylla". APNI. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  7. ↑ Ventenat, Étienne P. (1800). Description des Plantes Nouvelles et peu connues, cultivées dans le Jardin de J.M. Cels. Paris. p. 7. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  8. ↑ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. pp. 216–217. ISBN 9780958034180.
  9. 1 2 "Bossiaea heterophylla". Tasmanian Government Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  10. ↑ Wild Plants of Victoria (database). Viridans Biological Databases & Department of Sustainability and Environment. 2009.
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