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Electronic Flora of South Australia
Electronic Flora of South Australia
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Electronic Flora of South Australia genus Fact Sheet

Family: Fabaceae
Bossiaea

Synonymy: Not Applicable

Common name: Bossiaeas.

Description:
Shrubs or undershrubs; leaves entire, opposite or alternate or much reduced to scales when the stem is green and flattened into cladodes; stipules small.

Flowers axillary, solitary or in clusters of 2 or 3, pedicellate; bracts firstly imbricate at the base of the pedicels, more or less caducous; calyx 2-lipped, the upper 2 lobes more or less united into an upper lip, the lower 3 narrow and much smaller; bracteoles below the calyx attached to the pedicel, small and persistent or larger and caducous; petals clawed, standard suborbicular, about twice as long as the calyx; wings narrow-ovate, auriculate basally; keel obtuse, auriculate; filaments of the stamens joined to form a tube which is open along the upper side, anthers uniform, ovate or oblong, versatile; ovary stipitate or nearly sessile, 3-20-ovulate, often ciliate; style subulate, incurred, with a small terminal stigma.

Pod flat, linear-oblong, winged along the upper suture, opening in 2 valves which roll back; seed arillate.

Distribution:  Endemic to Australia, with about 50 species.

Biology: No text

Key to Species:
1. Branches terete, pubescent, with alternate leaves
 
2. Leaves lanceolate-acute, with revolute margins; bracteoles distal on the pedicels
B. cinerea 1.
2. Leaves ovate to orbicular, flat; bracteoles at the base of the pedicels
B. prostrata 3.
1. Branches flattened into winged cladodes, glabrous, leafless
 
3. Keel not exceeding the standard, less than 10 mm long; ovary c. 6-ovulate
B. ensata 2.
3. Keel much exceeding the standard, c. 15 mm long; ovary c. 20-ovulate
B. walkeri 4.

Author: Not yet available


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