Bossiaea celata

Bossiaea celata is a compact, intricately branched shrub that typically grows up to 0.8 m (2 ft 7 in) high and 3 m (9.8 ft) wide with foliage that is glaucous when young. The stems are flattened with slightly winged cladodes 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) wide. The leaves are reduced to egg-shaped scales 0.9–3.3 mm (0.035–0.130 in) long and 0.8–2.1 mm (0.031–0.083 in) wide. The flowers are arranged singly or in pairs, each flower on a pedicel 1.5–4.0 mm (0.059–0.157 in) long with five to seven broadly egg-shaped bracts up to 3.3 mm (0.13 in) long. The sepals are joined at the base forming a tube 2.2–4.6 mm (0.087–0.181 in) long, the two upper lobes 1.2–2.4 mm (0.047–0.094 in) long and the three lower lobes slightly longer with an narrow egg-shaped bracteole 2.0–3.6 mm (0.079–0.142 in) long near the base. The standard petal is yellow with a pinkish-red base around two greenish-yellow "eyes" and 8.7–11.6 mm (0.34–0.46 in) long, the wings 8.0–10.3 mm (0.31–0.41 in) long, pinkish-red and orange-yellow, the keel pinkish red and 8.0–10.4 mm (0.31–0.41 in) long. Flowering occurs from September to October and the fruit is an oblong pod 20–22 mm (0.79–0.87 in) long.[2][3]

Bossiaea celata was first formally described in 2006 by James Henderson Ross in the journal Muelleria from specimens collected in Boorabbin National Park in 1998.[3][4] The specific epithet (celata) means "concealed", referring to the difficulty of locating specimens of this species.[3]

This bossiaea grows in deep sand in open mallee in the Coolgardie biogeographic region of Western Australia.[2][3]

Bossiaea celata is classified as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife[2] meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.[5]