Bossiaea eriocarpa

{{Short description|Species of legume}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Speciesbox |name = Common brown pea |image = Bossiaea eriocarpa - Flickr - Kevin Thiele.jpg |image_caption = |genus = Bossiaea |species = eriocarpa |authority = Benth.<ref name=APC>{{cite web|title=''Bossiaea eriocarpa''|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/62458|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> |synonyms_ref = <ref name="APC" /> |synonyms ={{collapsible list | * ''Bossiaea endlicheri'' Meisn. nom. illeg. * ''Bossiaea endlicheri'' var. ''angustifolia'' Meisn. * ''Bossiaea endlicheri'' var. ''ovalifolia'' (Endl.) Meisn. nom. illeg. * ''Bossiaea eriocarpa'' var. ''eriocalyx'' Benth. * ''Bossiaea eriocarpa'' Benth. var. ''eriocarpa'' * ''Bossiaea eriocarpa'' var. ''normalis'' Benth. * ''Bossiaea eriocarpa'' var. ''planifolia'' Domin * ''Bossiaea gilbertii'' Turcz. * ''Bossiaea nervosa'' Meisn. * ''Bossiaea ovalifolia'' Endl. }} }}

'''''Bossiaea eriocarpa''''', commonly known as '''common brown pea''',<ref name=FloraBase>{{FloraBase|name=''Bossiaea eriocarpa''|id=3710}}</ref> is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with narrow oblong or linear leaves and yellow and red flowers.

==Description== ''Bossiaea eriocarpa'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|0.6–1.0|m}} and usually has densely hairy branches. The leaves are narrow oblong or linear, {{cvt|5–25|mm}} long and {{cvt|1.5–6|mm}} wide on a petiole {{cvt|0.8–2|mm}} long with a stipule {{cvt|0.6–4|mm}} long at the base. The leaves are glabrous, the lower surface paler than the upper surface. The flowers are arranged singly or in small groups, each flower on a pedicel {{cvt|3–20|mm}} long with overlapping, bracts up to {{cvt|7.0|mm}} long. The sepals are joined at the base forming a tube {{cvt|1.8–3.6|mm}} long, with lobes {{cvt|3–8|mm}} long, the upper two lobes much broader than the lower three. There are egg-shaped or elliptic bracteoles up to {{cvt|11.5|mm}} long on the pedicel. The standard petal is yellow with a red base and {{cvt|9.2–14.5|mm}} long, the wings {{cvt|8.8–11|mm}} long, the keel red or reddish-purple and {{cvt|8.8–11.0|mm}} long. Flowering occurs from July to November and the fruit is an oblong pod {{cvt|12–30|mm}} long.<ref name="FloraBase" /><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=43–48 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/278250#page/45/mode/1up |access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref>

==Taxonomy and naming== ''Bossiaea eriocarpa'' was first formally described in 1837 by George Bentham in ''Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus Liber Baro de Hügel'' from specimens collected near King George Sound.<ref name="Muelleria" /><ref name="Benth.">{{cite book |last1=Bentham |first1=George |last2=Endlicher |first2=Stefan F.L. (ed.) |last3=Fenzl |first3=Eduard (ed.) |last4=Bentham |first4=George (ed.) |last5=Schott |first5=Heinrich W. (ed.) |title=Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus Liber Baro de Hüge |date=1837 |page=36 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.64405481&view=1up&seq=46 |access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref><ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Bossiaea eriocarpa''|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/468150 |publisher=APNI|access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> The specific epithet (''eriocarpa'') means "wool-fruited".<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=193 |edition=3rd}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat== Common brown pea grows in a range of habitats in near-coastal areas from Zuytdorp Nature Reserve north of Kalbarri to near Albany in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographic regions of south-western Western Australia.<ref name="FloraBase" /><ref name="Muelleria" />

==Conservation status== ''Bossiaea eriocarpa'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.<ref name="FloraBase" />

==References== {{Reflist}}

eriocarpa Category:Flora of Western Australia Category:Plants described in 1837 Category:Taxa named by George Bentham