{{Short description|Species of legume}} {{Speciesbox |status_system = DECF |status = P3 |genus = Bossiaea |species = spinosa |authority = (Turcz.) Domin<ref name=APC>{{cite web|title=''Bossiaea spinosa''|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/62915|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=19 September 2021}}</ref> |synonyms_ref = <ref name="APC" /> |synonyms = * ''Platylobium spinosum'' <small>Turcz.</small> * ''Bossiaea calycina'' <small>Benth. nom. illeg.</small> |range_map = BossiaeaspinosaDistMap74.png |range_map_caption = Occurrence data from AVH }}
'''''Bossiaea spinosa''''' is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low, dense prostrate or rounded, twiggy shrub with egg-shaped to elliptic leaves and deep yellow to orange and pinkish-red, pea-like flowers.
==Description== ''Bossiaea spinosa'' is a dense, prostrate or rounded, twiggy shrub that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|15–50|cm}} with its young branches whitish and side branches often ending with a sharp point. The leaves are egg-shaped or elliptic, {{cvt|2.3–6.0|mm}} long and {{cvt|1.5–3.0|mm}} wide on a petiole {{cvt|0.5–2.0|mm}} long with narrow egg-shaped stipules {{cvt|1.2–2.6|mm}} long at the base. The flowers are arranged singly, each flower on a pedicel up to {{cvt|3.5|mm}} long, with egg-shaped or elliptic bracts {{cvt|1.5–2.9|mm}} long at the base. There are egg-shaped bracteoles {{cvt|1.8–3.5|mm}} long on the pedicels. The five sepals are green with a pink to purplish tinge and joined at the base, forming a tube {{cvt|1.6–3.0|mm}} long, the two upper lobes {{cvt|7.0–9.5|mm}} long and the lower lobes {{cvt|5.0–6.5|mm}} long. The standard petal is deep yellow to orange with a pinkish-red and yellow base, {{cvt|8.7–10.2|mm}} long and {{cvt|10.3–12.5|mm}} wide, the wings are {{cvt|7.5–9.0|mm}} long, and the keel dark red and {{cvt|7.4–8.8|mm}} long. Flowering occurs from August to October and the fruit is a flattened pod {{cvt|8–16|mm}} long.<ref name=FloraBase>{{FloraBase|name=''Bossiaea spinosa''|id=3720}}</ref><ref name="Muelleria">{{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=60–62 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/278250#page/62/mode/1up |access-date=19 September 2021}}</ref>
==Taxonomy and naming== This species was first formally described in 1853 by Nikolai Turczaninow who gave it the name ''Platylobium spinosum'' in the ''Bulletin de la Société impériale des naturalistes de Moscou'' from specimens collected by James Drummond.<ref name=APNI1>{{cite web|title=''Platylobium spinosum''|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/496110 |publisher=APNI|access-date=19 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="Turcz.">{{cite journal |last1=Turcaaninow |first1=Nikolai |title=Papilionaceae. Podalyrieae et Loteae Australasicae Non-Nullae, Hucusque non Descriptae |journal=Bulletin de la Société impériale des naturalistes de Moscou |date=1853 |page=284 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/107140#page/290/mode/1up |access-date=19 September 2021}}</ref> In 1923, Karel Domin changed the name to ''Bossiaea spinosa''.<ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Bossiaea spinosa''|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/468717 |publisher=APNI|access-date=19 September 2021}}</ref> The specific epithet (''spinosa'') means "spiny".<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=311 |edition=3rd}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== This species of pea grows in mallee and heathland between Lake Grace, Ongerup and Ravensthorpe in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions of south-western Western Australia.<ref name="FloraBase" /><ref name="Muelleria" />
==Conservation status== ''Bossiaea spinosa'' is classified as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions,<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=20 September 2021}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q4947587}}
spinosa Category:Rosids of Western Australia Category:Taxa named by Nikolai Turczaninow Category:Plants described in 1853