Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Bossiaea prostrata

Flowers and leaves. Photographer Dane Wimbush, Bournda National Park north of Merimbula

Leaves and backs of flowers. Photographer Ken Thomas, Kowen woodland, ACT

Pods and leaves. Photographer Russell Best, Macedon Ranges, Vic

Common name

Creeping bossiaea

Family

Fabaceae

Where found

Dry forest, woodland, grassy areas, along streams, and other habitats. Widespead.

Notes

Shrub, prostrate or sprawling, to about 0.2 m tall. Smaller stems more or less flat to oval in cross section, sometimes ridged, hairy to sparsely hairy. Leaves alternating along the stems, 0.3-2.5 cm long, 2-15 mm wide, variable on a single plant, round to narrow oblong, hairless or sparsely hairy. Leaf stalks 2–5 mm long, with a joint. Flowers 6-10 mm long, pea shaped, with 5 petals, 2 joined together to form the keel. Standard petal yellow with a red flare inside, pinkish red to pinkish or reddish brown outside with long, radiating pale streaks, or yellow suffused red and brown, wings purplish brown to dark red or brownish red, sometimes with a yellow tip, keel purplish brown to dark red, pale at the base, red towards the tip. Flowers 1 or 2 together. Flowers Spring.

All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Bossiaea~prostrata  (accessed 5 January, 2021)

Description partly based on Thompson, I.R., (2012) A revision of eastern Australian Bossiaea (Fabaceae: Bossiaeae). Muelleria 30(2): 138-140