Daviesia oxyclada

Daviesia oxyclada is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a densely-branched, glabrous shrub with spiny stems, vertically compressed, triangular phyllodes with the narrower end towards the base, and yellow or orange flowers with red markings.

Description
Daviesia oxyclada is a densely-branched, glabrous shrub that typically grows to a height of up to about 60 cm with spiny branchlets diverging at about 45° from the main stems. Its phyllodes are vertically compressed, triangular with the narrower end towards the base and sharply pointed, mostly 5–10 mm long and 1–4 mm high. The flowers are arranged singly or in pairs in leaf axils, each flower on a pedicel 0.5–2 mm long with bracts about 1 mm long at the base. The sepals are 1.5–2.0 mm long and joined for most of their length apart from five small teeth. The standard petal is broadly egg-shaped with a notched centre, 6–8 mm long and wide, and yellow or orange with a dark red base. The wings are 6.0–7.5 mm long and red, the keel is 6.5–7.0 mm long and dark red. Flowering occurs from May to August and the fruit is an inflated, triangular pod 9–12 mm long.

Taxonomy and naming
Daviesia oxyclada was first formally described in 1995 by Michael Crisp in Australian Systematic Botany from specimens collected by Charles Chapman in the Irwin district in 1976. The specific epithet (oxyclada) means "sharp branch".

Distribution and habitat
This daviesia grows in kwongan between Moora, Eneabba and Mingenew in the Avon Wheatbelt and Geraldton Sandplains biogeographic regions of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status
Daviesia oxyclada is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.