View source for Bossiaea divaricata

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
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|name =
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|status_system = DECF
|status = P4
|genus = Bossiaea
|species = divaricata
|authority = [[Turcz.]]<ref name=APC>{{cite web|title=''Bossiaea divaricata''|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/62391|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=22 July 2021}}</ref>
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}}
'''''Bossiaea divaricata''''' is a species of flowering plant in the family [[Fabaceae]] and is [[endemic]] to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a low, dense, openly-branched shrub with oblong to egg-shaped leaves and deep yellow and dark red flowers.
==Description==
''Bossiaea divaricata'' is a dense, rigid, openly-branched shrub that typically grows up to {{cvt|0.5|m}} high and {{cvt|1|m}} wide, the short side branches ending in a sharp point. The leaves are arranged alternately, oblong to narrow egg-shaped, {{cvt|8–18|mm}} long and {{cvt|2.5–6|mm}} wide on a [[Petiole (botany)|petiole]] {{cvt|0.3–0.6|mm}} long with egg-shaped [[stipule]]s {{cvt|2–4.5|mm}} long at the base. The edges of the leaves curve downwards and the lower surface is hairy. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils, each flower on a [[Pedicel (botany)|pedicel]] {{cvt|2.5–4.0|mm}} long with overlapping egg-shaped [[bract]]s up to {{cvt|3|mm}} long attached. The five [[sepal]]s are joined at the base with lobes {{cvt|2.3–3.7|mm}} long. There are [[Bract#Bracteole|bracteole]]s {{cvt|2.8–3.5|mm}} long at the base of the sepal tube. The [[Papilionaceous flower#Corolla|standard]] petal is deep yellow with a reddish base and {{cvt|8–11|mm}} long, the [[Papilionaceous flower#Corolla|wings]] pink to red with a yellow tip and {{cvt|7.0–9.5|mm}} long, the [[Papilionaceous flower#Corolla|keel]] dark red with a pinkish base and {{cvt|7.4–9.5|mm}} long. The fruit is a dark brown [[Pod (fruit)|pod]] {{cvt|11–20|mm}} long.<ref name=FloraBase>{{FloraBase|name=''Bossiaea divaricata''|id=3709}}</ref><ref name="Muelleria">{{cite journal |last1=Ross |first1=James H. |title=A conspectus of the Western Australian ''Bossiaea'' species (Bossiaeeae: Fabaceae) |journal=Muelleria |date=2006 |volume=23 |pages=59–60 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/278250#page/61/mode/1up |access-date=22 July 2021}}</ref>
==Taxonomy and naming==
''Bossiaea divaricata'' was first formally described in 1853 by [[Nikolai Turczaninow]] in the ''Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou''.<ref name=Turcz>{{cite journal|last1=Turczaninow|first1=Nikolai|title=''Bossiaea  divaricata''|journal=Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou|date=1853|volume=26|issue=1|page=285 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/107140#page/291/mode/1up|accessdate=22 July 2021}}</ref><ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Bossiaea divaricata''|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/468068 |publisher=APNI|access-date=21 July 2021}}</ref> The [[Binomial nomenclature|specific epithet]] (''divaricata'') means "widely spreading", referring to the branching habit.<ref name="Sharr">{{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=185 |edition=3rd}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat==
This bossiaea grows in [[Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands|mallee]] and woodland in disturbed sites in the [[Avon Wheatbelt]], [[Esperance Plains]] and [[Mallee (biogeographic region)|Mallee]] [[IBRA|biogeographic regions]] of south-western Western Australia.<ref name="FloraBase" /><ref name="Muelleria" />
==Conservation status==
''Bossiaea divaricata'' is classified as "[[Declared Rare and Priority Flora List|Priority Four]]" by the Government of Western Australia [[Department of Parks and Wildlife (Western Australia)|Department of Parks and Wildlife]],<ref name="FloraBase" /> meaning that is rare or near threatened.<ref name=codes>{{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=22 July 2021}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q15525900}}
[[Category:Bossiaea|divaricata]]
[[Category:Eudicots of Western Australia]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1853]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Nikolai Turczaninow]]