{{Short description|Species of legume}} {{use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Speciesbox |image = Bossiaea modesta.jpg |image_caption = |status_system = DECF |status = P2 |genus = Bossiaea |species = modesta |authority = J.H.Ross<ref name=APC>{{cite web|title=''Bossiaea modesta''|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/143739|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=8 August 2021}}</ref> |range_map = |range_map_caption = }} thumb|Flower detail
'''''Bossiaea modesta''''' is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the ranges east of Perth in Western Australia. It is a sub-shrub with wiry, trailing to twining stems, linear to elliptic or oblong leaves, and small yellow and red flowers.
==Description== ''Bossiaea modesta'' is a sub-shrub that typically grows to a height of up to {{cvt|50|cm}} when supported by other plants, and has wiry, trailing and twining stems. The leaves are linear to elliptic or oblong, {{cvt|9–28|mm}} long and {{cvt|2.5–6|mm}} wide with tapering stipules {{cvt|0.5–1.6|mm}} long and shorter than the petiole. The flowers are arranged singly, each flower on a thread-like pedicel {{cvt|12–25|mm}} long. There is a single oblong bract {{cvt|0.9–1.8|mm}} long but that falls off at the bud stage. The five sepals are joined at the base forming a tube {{cvt|2.8–3.5|mm}} long the two upper lobes {{cvt|1.2–1.9|mm}} long and the lower lobes {{cvt|1.5–1.7|mm}} long, with oblong bracteoles {{cvt|0.8–1.6|mm}} long just below the base of the sepal tube. The standard petal is deep yellow with a red base and {{cvt|9.8–10.0|mm}} long, the wings {{cvt|7.6–8|mm}} long, and the keel is red and {{cvt|8.0–8.3|mm}} long. Flowering occurs from October to December.<ref name=FloraBase>{{FloraBase|name=''Bossiaea modesta''|id=14290}}</ref><ref name="Muelleria">{{cite journal |last1=Ross |first1=James H. |title=Notes on Western Australian ''Bossiaea'' species (Fabaceae) |journal=Muelleria |date=1994 |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=218–220 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/209968#page/124/mode/1up |access-date=8 August 2021}}</ref><ref name="Muelleria2">{{cite journal |last1=Ross |first1=James H. |title=A conspectus of the Western Australian ''Bossiaea'' species (Bossiaeeae: Fabaceae). Muelleria 23: |journal=Muelleria |date=2006 |volume=11 |pages=62–64 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/278250#page/64/mode/1up |access-date=8 August 2021}}</ref>
==Taxonomy and naming== ''Bossiaea modesta'' was first formally described in 1994 by James Henderson Ross in the journal ''Muelleria'' from specimens collected by Margaret Corrick in the Mount Dale area in 1983.<ref name="Muelleria" /><ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Bossiaea modesta''|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/557141 |publisher=APNI|access-date=8 August 2021}}</ref> The specific epithet (''modesta'') means "modest" or "unassuming".<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=254 |edition=3rd}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== This bossiaea grows in damp places near Mount Dale and on the Darling Range to the east and south east of Perth in the Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographic regions.<ref name="FloraBase" /><ref name="Muelleria2" />
==Conservation status== ''Bossiaea modesta'' is classified as "Priority Two" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife,<ref name="FloraBase" /> meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations.<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=8 August 2021}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q15525754}}
modesta Category:Flora of Western Australia Category:Plants described in 1994