Daviesia uncinata



Daviesia uncinata 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 shrub with many stems, hooked, needle-shaped, sharply pointed phyllodes continuous with the branchlets and rich yellow and pinkish-red flowers.

Description
Daviesia uncinata is a densely-branched shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 70 cm and has many stems. Its phyllodes are scattered, circular in cross-section and continuous with the branchlets, 5–70 mm long, 1–2 mm wide and sharply pointed with a hooked end. The flowers are arranged in a single group of one to several in the axils on a peduncle 1–4 mm long, each flower on a pedicel 1.0–1.5 mm long. The sepals are 2.5–3.5 mm long and joined bell-shaped at the base, the upper two lobes joined for most of their length and the lower three triangular. The standard petal is broadly egg-shaped with a notched centre, about 6–7 mm long, 4–5 mm wide and rich yellow yellow dark pinkish-red markings. The wings are 5.5–6.0 mm long and pinkish-red, the keel 5.5–6.5 mm long and pinkish-red with a black tip. Flowering occurs from October to January and the fruit is a flattened, shallowly triangular pod 11–15 mm long.

Taxonomy
Daviesia uncinata was first formally described in 1995 by Michael Crisp in Australian Systematic Botany from specimens collected by Crisp near Yoting in 1979. The specific epithet (uncinata) means "hooked" or "barbed" referring to phyllodes.

Distribution and habitat
This daviesia grows in kwongan in the area between Kellerberrin, Piesseville and Lake Magenta in the Avon Wheatbelt and Mallee bioregions of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status
Daviesia uncinata is classified as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.