{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{speciesbox |name = |image = |image_caption = |status_system = DECF |status = P3 |genus = Bossiaea |species = flexuosa |authority = J.H.Ross<ref name=APC>{{cite web|title=''Bossiaea flexuosa''|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/201565|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> |synonyms = }}
'''''Bossiaea flexuosa''''' is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a compact shrub with slightly flattened, zigzag branches, notched, more or less leafless cladodes, and golden yellow and red or pinkish flowers.
==Description== ''Bossiaea flexuosa'' is a compact shrub that typically grows up to {{cvt|0.6|m}} high and {{cvt|1.5|m}} wide with zigzag branches that are slightly flattened to oval in cross-section, and notched cladodes {{cvt|1–3|mm}} wide. The leaves are reduced to broadly egg-shaped scales {{cvt|0.8–1.4|mm}} long and {{cvt|0.9–1.4|mm}} wide, reddish at first then turning black. The flowers are arranged singly, in pairs or threes, each flower on a pedicel {{cvt|2.5–4.5|mm}} long with overlapping, egg-shaped bracts up to {{cvt|1.1|mm}} long. The sepals are joined at the base forming a tube {{cvt|2.0–4.5|mm}} long, with five lobes, the two upper lobes {{cvt|1.0–2.7|mm}} long and the three lower lobes {{cvt|0.8–1.7|mm}} long, with egg-shaped bracteoles {{cvt|0.9–2.0|mm}} long on the pedicel. The standard petal is golden yellow with a pinkish-red base and {{cvt|8.5–12.5|mm}} long, the wings {{cvt|7.5–11.5|mm}} long and the keel is deep purplish-red with a greenish-yellow base and {{cvt|7.7–11.0|mm}} long. Flowering occurs from September to November and the fruit is an oblong pod {{cvt|10–16|mm}} long.<ref name=FloraBase>{{FloraBase|name=''Bossiaea flexuosa''|id=30254}}</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=130–132 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/278250#page/132/mode/1up |access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref>
==Taxonomy and naming== ''Bossiaea flexuosa'' was first formally described in 2006 by James Henderson Ross in the journal ''Muelleria'' from specimens collected south-west of Salmon Gums in 1998.<ref name="Muelleria" /><ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Bossiaea flexuosa''|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/608756 |publisher=APNI|access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> The specific epithet (''flexuosa'') means "zigzag", referring to the shape of the young stems.<ref name="Muelleria" />
==Distribution and habitat== This bossiaea grows in deep sand in kwongan, open mallee or woodland mostly between Norseman, Hyden and Salmon Gums in the Coolgardie, Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions of Western Australia.<ref name="FloraBase" /><ref name="Muelleria" />
==Conservation status== ''Bossiaea flexuosa'' is classified as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife<ref name="FloraBase" /> meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.<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=27 July 2021}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q51043402}}
flexuosa Category:Eudicots of Western Australia Category:Plants described in 2006