Bossiaea flexuosa

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 0.6 m high and 1.5 m wide with zigzag branches that are slightly flattened to oval in cross-section, and notched cladodes 1–3 mm wide. The leaves are reduced to broadly egg-shaped scales 0.8–1.4 mm long and 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 2.5–4.5 mm long with overlapping, egg-shaped bracts up to 1.1 mm long. The sepals are joined at the base forming a tube 2.0–4.5 mm long, with five lobes, the two upper lobes 1.0–2.7 mm long and the three lower lobes 0.8–1.7 mm long, with egg-shaped bracteoles 0.9–2.0 mm long on the pedicel. The standard petal is golden yellow with a pinkish-red base and 8.5–12.5 mm long, the wings 7.5–11.5 mm long and the keel is deep purplish-red with a greenish-yellow base and 7.7–11.0 mm long. Flowering occurs from September to November and the fruit is an oblong pod 10–16 mm long.

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. The specific epithet (flexuosa) means "zigzag", referring to the shape of the young stems.

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.

Conservation status
Bossiaea flexuosa is classified as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.