''Bossiaea arcuata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to a small area in Western Australia. It is an erect, openly-branched, more or less leafless shrub with often arched

cladodes :''In botany, "Cladodes" may refer to a synonym of the genus '' Alchornea'' or to the plural of " cladode".'' ''Cladodes'' is a genus of firefly beetles. It used to be included in the subfamily Amydetinae, which is probably a highly artifici ...

, and yellow and red pea-like flowers.

Description

''Bossiaea arcuata'' is an erect, openly-branched shrub that typically grows to high and wide. The leaves are oblong to lance-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long but are only present on the youngest growth and soon fall from the plant. The ends of the branches function as cladodes wide, are pinkish when young, and have a weak point on the tip. The flowers are arranged singly on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long with a single bract that falls from the flower bud. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s are joined at the base forming a tube long, the two upper lobes long and the lower three lobes long. The

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

petal is bright yellow with red markings and long, the

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

yellow with a red base and the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in B ...

pale greenish yellow. Flowering occurs from March to April or from September to October and the fruit is an oblong

pod Pod or POD may refer to: Biology * Pod (fruit), a type of fruit of a flowering plant * Husk or pod of a legume * Pod of whales or other marine mammals * "-pod", a suffix meaning "foot" used in taxonomy Electronics and computing * Proper o ...

long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Bossiaea arcuata'' was first formally described in 2006 by James Henderson Ross in the journal '' Muelleria'' from specimens collected south of

Norseman The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the pre ...

in 2000. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''arcuata'') means "curved like a bow" referring to the shaped of the cladodes.

Distribution and habitat

This bossiaea is only known from the Picnic Lake area south of Norseman in Western Australia, where it grows in deep sand on the edge of the salt lake.

Conservation status

''Bossiaea arcuata'' is classified as "

Priority One Prioritization is an action that arranges items or activities in order of importance. Priority may refer specifically to: Law * Priority or right of way on the road, see Traffic § Priority (right of way) ** Priority signs, a traffic sign tha ...

" by the Government of Western Australia

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and en ...

, meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q51043319 arcuata Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 2006