Bossiaea cucullata

Bossiaea cucullata is a rigid, dense, many-branched shrub that typically grows up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) high and 5 m (16 ft) wide with greyish-green, more or less glabrous foliage. The branches are sometimes flattened with slightly winged cladodes 2–5 mm (0.079–0.197 in) wide. The leaves are reduced to dark brown, egg-shaped scales 0.7–1.5 mm (0.028–0.059 in) long. The flowers are usually arranged singly, each flower on a pedicel up to 5 mm (0.20 in) long with overlapping, broadly egg-shaped bracts up to 1.1 mm (0.043 in) long. The sepals are joined at the base forming a tube 2.3–4.4 mm (0.091–0.173 in) long, the two upper lobes 4.9–10.2 mm (0.19–0.40 in) long and the three lower lobes 1.1–2.4 mm (0.043–0.094 in) long, with a broadly egg-shaped bracteole 1.0–1.2 mm (0.039–0.047 in) long on the pedicel. The standard petal is usually deep yellow to orange-yellow and 10.0–14.4 mm (0.39–0.57 in) long, the wings about the same length as the standard, the keel deep red, maroon or greenish-yellow and 13.5–26 mm (0.53–1.02 in) long. Flowering occurs from March to October and the fruit is an oblong pod 25–48 mm (0.98–1.89 in) long.[2][3][4]

Bossiaea cucullata was first formally described in 1998 by James Henderson Ross in the journal Muelleria from specimens collected on the western side of Lake King in 1997.[3][4][5] The specific epithet (cucullata) means "hooded", referring to the upper sepal lobes.[3][6]

This bossiaea grows in deep sand around the edge of salt lakes in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Mallee and Murchison biogeographic regions of Western Australia.[2][4]

Bossiaea cucullata is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.[2]