# Bossiaea prostrata

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{{short description|Species of plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Creeping bossiaea
|image = Bossiaea prostrata.jpg
|image_caption = ''Bossiaea prostrata'' near [Taralga](/source/Taralga)
|genus = Bossiaea
|species = prostrata
|authority = [R.Br.](/source/R.Br.)<ref name="APC">{{cite web |title=''Bossiaea prostrata'' |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/62757 |website=Australian Plant Census |accessdate=23 February 2020}}</ref>
|synonyms =
*''Bossiaea humilis'' <small>[Meisn.](/source/Carl_Meissner)</small>
*''Bossiaea linnaeoides'' <small>G.Don</small>
*''Bossiaea nummularia'' <small>Endl.</small>
|range_map=BossiaeaprostrataDistMap57.png
|range_map_caption= Occurrence data from [AVH](/source/Australasian_Virtual_Herbarium)
}}

'''''Bossiaea prostrata''''', commonly known as '''creeping bossiaea''',<ref name="VICFLORA">{{cite web |title=''Bossiaea prostrata'' |url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/a6b263c4-c8c3-484d-aee2-620d17e8091b |website=VicFLORA |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria |accessdate=27 February 2020}}</ref> is a prostrate understory shrub  in the pea family, [Fabaceae](/source/Fabaceae). It is a widespread species with orange-yellow flowers, purple-brown keels and trailing branches.

==Description==
''Bossiaea prostrata'' is a shrub with a prostrate spreading, scrambling habit to {{cvt|0.2|m}} wide. The leaves are dark green on the upper side and paler on the underside, ovate to rounded or oblong,  {{cvt|3-15|mm}} long, {{cvt|2-10|mm}} wide and have a [petiole](/source/Petiole_(botany))  about {{cvt|5|mm}} long. The leaves are arranged alternately, simple, smooth or with sparse hairs, [stipules](/source/stipules) narrow to egg-shaped, {{cvt|1-2|mm}} long. The stems are flattened toward the apex and either smooth or with short flattened or spreading hairs.   The flowers are single or in pairs, {{cvt|6-12|mm}} long, have orange-yellow standards, that are pinkish brown on the back, and purple-brown keels.  The [pedicels](/source/pedicel_(botany)) {{cvt|1-2|cm}} long, [bract](/source/bract)s {{cvt|1.5|mm}} long. The seed pods are oblong in shape and between {{cvt|1.5-3.2|cm}} long. Flowering occurs between September and November in its native range.
It is similar to the species ''[Bossiaea buxifolia](/source/Bossiaea_buxifolia)'', but may be distinguished by its longer leaves, petioles and pedicels and more distant leaf spacing.<ref name="VICFLORA"/><ref name=Viridans>{{cite book |title=Wild Plants of Victoria (database)|year=2009 |publisher=Viridans Biological Databases & Department of Sustainability and Environment}}</ref><ref name=NSW>{{cite web |url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Bossiaea~prostrata|title=''Bossiaea prostrata''|accessdate=13 May 2012 |author=|work= PlantNET - New South Wales Flora Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney Australia}}</ref><ref name=NSW2>{{cite web |url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Bossiaea|title=''Bossiaea''|accessdate=13 May 2012 |author=|work= PlantNET - New South Wales Flora Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney Australia}}</ref>

==Taxonomy and naming==
''Bossiaea prostrata'' was first formally described in 1812 by botanist [Robert Brown](/source/Robert_Brown_(botanist%2C_born_1773)) and the description was published in ''[Hortus Kewensis](/source/Hortus_Kewensis)''.<ref name=APNI>{{cite web |url=http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?TAXON_NAME=Bossiaea+prostrata|title=''Bossiaea prostrata'' |accessdate=13 May 2012 |work= [Australian Plant Name Index](/source/Australian_Plant_Name_Index) (APNI), IBIS database|publisher = Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra}}</ref><ref name="BHL">{{cite web |title=Hortus Kewensis |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/185200#page/278/mode/1up |website=Biodiversity Heritage Library |accessdate=29 February 2020}}</ref>The [specific epithet](/source/Botanical_nomenclature) (''prostrata'') is a [Latin](/source/Latin) word meaning "down flat", "overthrown" or "laid low",<ref name="RWB">{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Roland Wilbur|title=The Composition of Scientific Words|date=1956|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.|page =481}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
Creeping bossiaea occurs in [South Australia](/source/South_Australia), [Victoria](/source/Victoria_(Australia)), [Tasmania](/source/Tasmania), [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales) and [Queensland](/source/Queensland) in Australia. It grows in coastal heath, grassland and open-forest on a variety of soils including clay-shale, preferring wetter locations.<ref name="VICFLORA"/><ref name="WF">{{cite book |last1=Sharp |first1=Sarah |last2=Rehwinkel |first2=Rainer |last3=Mallinson |first3=Dave |last4=Eddy |first4=David |title=Woodland Flora a Field Guide for the Southern Tableland (NSW & ACT) |date=2015 |publisher=Horizons Print Management |location=Canberra |isbn=9780994495808}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q4947583}}

prostrata
Category:Flora of New South Wales
Category:Flora of Queensland
Category:Flora of South Australia
Category:Flora of Tasmania
Category:Flora of Victoria (state)
Category:Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bossiaea prostrata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bossiaea_prostrata) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bossiaea_prostrata?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.